Nights: Return to Dreams
by Iona
Summary: Wizeman returns to power, and Nights is caught unaware.
1. Intro to the Story

Body

When the Storm Brews Again 

by Iona 

Nights, once a battle-hardened soul, has now found peace and relaxation in his beloved Dreamworld. His battle is not over, however, as Wizeman has regained his power and is once more threatening. There is a new hope, however, as Nights gathers a team of unusual Nightmaren, along with old friends Elliot and Claris. They seek out the Lord of Dreams, the balance to the tyranny of the Lord of Nightmares. 


	2. Chapter One: The Reluctant Return

NiGHTS: Into Dreams  
  
Chapter One:  
The Reluctant Return  
  
  
It had been a year since Wizeman's defeat. It all seemed so far away from the resting Nights. Under the small tree, he rested in the warm pastures of Spring Valley, the sounds of the waterfalls in the distance lulling him into a deep nap. It had been very quiet since the end of the fight. Nights had spent several months recovering and returning the ideya to their rightful dreamers. He was now enjoying doing nothing more than determining where he was going to fly for the day, or where he was going to get his next nap that night. As for the other two hero's of the fight against Wizeman, they were doing well. Claris had braved the stage, and sung her heart out to a huge audience, ensuring her newfound career in the theater. Her new boyfriend, Elliot, had gone on to a promising basketball career. He had made the varsity team of his high school, and was becoming more and more skilled everyday. While their red ideya was still strong, they visited less and less as the year had gone on, finding their dreams in each other. Yep, thought Nights, everything was perfect.  
  
He had, of course, heard the rumors coming from Nightmare Tower. Rumors of new Nightmaren like Nights. New and powerful magic being worked, and the reawakening of Wizeman into the dream world. Nights, however, discounted these rumors. Had he not, after all, defeated and destroyed Wizeman altogether? Of course he had. He had not even bothered flying out to Nightmare Tower to investigate these rumors. There was no way that the evil wizard could come back. When a Nightmaren was dead, he was dead and that was a fact. The rumors had, however, become more and more persistent over time. What was also disturbing was that the rumors were coming to sound more and more alike. Nightopians spoke about new Nightmaren practicing and training inside the tower, training to retake the lands that Nights had fought so hard to free. Nights, however, still dismissed the rumors, telling terrified Nightopians that they were just that..rumors. He and Reala were one of a kind. Wizeman had lost one Level 1 Nightmaren, he wasn't about to risk a great deal of energy to create many Nightmaren, only to lose half of them. Yes, Nights finally told himself, there were no truths to those rumors.  
  
It was a denial that would haunt Nights for the rest of his days. Far off across the landscape, Reala stood atop Nightmare Tower, overlooking the dark land below. His face painted in the haunting style that so many knew him for. The cold winds blew the long floppies of his headdress all around him. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, the wisps of frost it created drifted off and disappeared just as quickly. He was alive for the first time in a long while. After his defeat at the hands of his brother, he had not been himself. Reala believed himself to be superior to Nights in every way. He had trained harder than Nights, he had remained loyal when Nights ran off. He deserved to more than his brother did. The angry Nightmaren had known something that Nights had not. He knew that Wizeman could never truly be destroyed, only banished for a short time. So he had waited, and waited patiently for his master to return. And return Wizeman did. The furious wizard awoke in a rage, demanding Nights head on a silver platter and delivered to him. He quickly recovered, however, and turned to regaining his lost power. Reala continued to wait patiently. It took long months for his master to recover fully. It took a great amount of ideya and even some of the unusual plants in the Mystic Forest. Finally, however, Wizeman had recovered, and Nights had not even flown close in all that time. Fool, thought Reala, Nights didn't even know the storm that was coming for him. He was growing idle and weak out in Spring Valley, resting there and befriending the pathetic Nightopians. Wizeman knew better, however. He knew that what was needed were more Level 1 Nightmares to capture and take Nights alive. Reala had been against it from the very beginning. He wanted to be the one to haul in his brother and bring him in before his master. Wizeman had argued against this, however, and had gone about creating his new series of Nightmaren. And a motley bunch they were. Each had been created for a specific purpose, each of them to be given a specific task to be accomplished after Nights was captured. Reala sneered at these new Nightmaren. They all had their faults, and all of them were weak in some way. He had tried his hardest to ensure that they were warriors and fighters, but some of them just would not take to the training at all. They complained, or stared off into space in a daydream. Some had not even survived the harsh lessons that Reala delivered. He was assured that those that did survive were strong enough to complete their appointed tasks. Reala, however, was still the strongest, and sometimes a Nightmaren needed to be beaten down to remind them of this point. Wizeman did nothing to stop Reala's training tactics, or to help any Nightmaren in any way. He needed strength, and he knew Reala would give it to him. Reala continued waiting, biding his time until his new army was strong enough to strike and take Nights into custody.  
  
That night had finally come. Wizeman was strong enough to once more take up his dream of conquering both the real world and the world of dreams. Now it was time for Reala to take his new Nightmaren team out. It was the moment that Reala had been waiting for all year. He had before him the cream of the crop. All of them had that fire in their eyes that Reala enjoyed. Yes Nights, you were a fool to not investigate while Wizeman was weak. Now he was stronger than ever, and now he would have his revenge on you.  
  
"Remember," he told his new minions, "Nights is to be taken alive for the pleasure of the Master. Watch out for him, however, he is still very strong and very fast." Reala lifted off the ground, pointing towards Spring Valley, "Come, let us teach my brother a lesson about betraying Wizeman."  
  
All of them lifted off the ground, seven in all. Yes, thought Reala, his brother would not stand a chance.  
  
His brother, in the meantime, had fallen asleep underneath that same tree. Nights snored rather loudly. So loudly, as a matter of fact, that a nearby Nightopian had come over with his fishing line to wake him up and tell him to fall asleep somewhere else. Sure this purple garbed Nightmaren was a hero, but enough was enough. He was never going to catch anything if this silly thing would not move away. The Nightopian flew on his silvery wings, hovering above the much larger Nights when he heard the cackle. He believed it was one of the many Mepians that hovered around the area. He turned back to Nights, reaching down with his pole and poking the Nightmaren in his side. Then he heard the cackle again, and this time a cold shiver ran up his back. He turned again, looking up into the sky and spying a small formation of humanoid beings. In the lead was one dressed in a tight white body suit with a series of blue and red diamonds on his chest. He wore boots of black and red and they ran up most of his thigh. On his hands were bright yellow gloves, no, they weren't gloves, they were claws. His face was painted white with black around the mouth and eyes. His smile was almost feral, and the Nightopian shivered when his eyes beheld it. What was it? The Nightopian didn't know, all he knew was that it was heading his way, and it was not in a good mood.   
  
"Nights! Wake up!", the smaller creature said.  
  
"Not now Topi.", Nights said, using the nickname he gave to any Nightopian, "Can't you see I'm doing something important?"  
  
"This isn't the time! There's something coming this way, and it doesn't look friendly."  
  
Nightopians were not given over to fear, and this was the reason that Nights opened his eyes. "What are you talking about? What doesn't look friendly?"  
  
The small creature pointed up into the sky. Nights followed the Nightopians finger and he saw what had frightened him so. Then his eyes went wide as he breathed that word that he thought he would never say again. "Reala..." His eyes were intent and focused on his brother that it was only after they got closer that Nights noticed others were flying alongside Reala. Who were they? What were they? They couldn't be Nightmaren, only one creature could create Nightmaren and he had destroyed him.   
  
Reala saw his brother, saw that creature that had caused so much damage. It was time! He hovered in midair, that evil smile growing even wider. He pointed at Nights, and the Nightmaren sped by him to attack.  
  
Nights eyes grew wide in fear. He launched himself up from the ground and tried to measure up the Nightmaren flying towards him. He couldn't, however, do that. They were coming in too fast. "Well," he thought to himself, "Let's test these guys out." He sped off towards one of the many islands hovering in the sky. He would need one with a windmill, yes, he had a plan. The other Nightmaren were following him, perfect. He could outrun all of them, he was faster and more agile. As he sped closer to one of the windmills, he spotted a window open and put his arms to his side, and brought his legs together to make himself as small and aerodynamic as possible, aiming right for that open window. Not many could do this, it was a difficult trick to fly into such a small opening. He turned once more and caught them following, speeding up such as he had. His smile grew once more as he aimed himself, and then slipped right into the window, coming to a quick halt inside. He turned around, waiting. As he looked outside, he saw one of the Nightmaren try to pull up only to slam into the outside of the windmill to the right. The other was more agile and was able to pull up in time. Another had stopped quite a distance back, and Nights figured that one had known what he was up to. The fourth flew into the window behind Nights, much to his amazement. He did not, however, pull up in time and slammed into the wall at the back of the room with a soft thud. Nights winced, imagining how much that had to hurt. The final one had also made it through the window, and had seen her friend hit the far wall. She skidded to a stop, her hands and feet on the floor. Nights was impressed, only a rare few could accomplish this. Nights looked her up and down, she was dressed in dark and light green, with white sleeves and white boots. What caught his attention, however, were the intense emerald green eyes that she had. Those eyes narrowed as she reached behind her back and brought out something that Nights had never seen before, a pair of daggers. "Weapons!", thought Nights, "He's given them weapons!" This was no longer a game, weapons brought a whole new aspect to the fight. The female Nightmaren charged forward, her speed causing her to come across the room in a flash. Nights was one step ahead of her, however, and immediately darted for the window. She turned, narrowing her eyes once more and throwing one of the daggers after him. It sped across the room, cutting the air. Nights launched himself a fraction of a second too late, the dagger slashed up and across his back, slashing him. He gasped as the searing pain ran across his back, and then he fell out of the window. He tried to gain control of his fall, spinning and twisting himself until he could once more look at the ground. He spread his arms and legs wide to slow his descent, but the ground was coming up to fast. He started flying forward, hoping that his forward motion would take some energy from the speed of his descent. With a whoosh and a swirl of dust, he started flying completely forward, his descent stopped. He saw, however, that he was flying too close to the ground, and a hill was racing towards him. He bent his back, trying his hardest to raise himself up. At the last moment, he did so, rising back up into the air. He once more twisted to look back up into the air, only to have two boots slam into his stomach and crash him into the ground. The air was knocked out of him as his body slammed hard into the lush green grass of Spring Valley. He groaned in pain as all around him the enemy Nightmaren landed. They watched him carefully, but Nights was in too much pain to even stand. He managed enough strength to bring himself to his hands and knees, but a boot from somewhere slammed itself once more into his stomach. "Stay down."  
  
Reala landed close by, walking over as his Nightmaren watched the wounded Nights try and get up. He only smiled as another boot sent his brother back to the ground. "Well, well, well brother. It's such a pleasure to see you again." He walked up close and saw the long slash running along his back. This brought a raised eyebrow to his face, looking at the group. "Who did that?"   
  
The female maren held her head up, "I did, he wasn't quick enough and it slashed him."  
  
Reala nodded his head, kneeling down close to Nights, bringing his face up with one of his clawed hands. "You've grown weak, brother. I should kill you now and be done with it. Wizeman, however, has different plans for you."  
  
Nights coughed up some blood, looking up at Reala. "He's supposed to be dead, I defeated him and sent him to the afterlife."  
  
Reala cackled loudly, shaking his head. "A pathetic little 'maren like you, kill the Lord of Nightmares? I don't think so, brother. You can't kill Wizeman, you can only send him away for a short while. And his short while was up months ago. If you hadn't been so lazy, you would have come and checked. Instead you decided to lay here and pretend it was over."  
  
Nights shook his head, taking a deep breath, "No..he's supposed to be dead."  
  
Reala only laughed again, kicking Nights in the ribs as hard as he could. "Oh brother, I shudder to think what Wizeman has in store for you. Pick him up and bring him along. There's a comfy room waiting for him in Nightmare Tower." They all laughed this time as two of them roughly picked him up and started flying off. Reala stayed behind for a moment, taking a deep breath as he looked at Spring Valley. In the distance, a rumble of thunder could be heard, and the Nightmare General just smiled. "Oh yes," murmured Reala, "Oh, it's going to be beautiful." He leapt up into the air, following his cohorts for the long flight back home.  
  
The flight to Nightmare Tower was a quiet one. Nights was too weak from the slash on his back and the numerous kicks to his chest and stomach. He concentrated on breathing and trying to block out the pain. He was almost dizzy with the pain, and the ground scrolling beneath him wasn't helping. He was being carried between two of the stronger Nightmares, their hands under each of his arms. They were intent on where they were going, paying little attention to their prisoners. It was this way for a long time, Nights watching the ground go by, the captors not speaking or noticing their prisoner. The rolling hills of Spring Valley turned into the pools of Splash Gardens. He could see the parks with their splashing fountains, and the large lakes with their beautiful blue water, flashing by. Then Nights saw the border, Mystic Forest. The huge wooded area loomed before him, the green canopy spanning off in every direction. The Nightmaren group turned, heading north and skirting the edge of the forest. Nobody flew over the entire length of the forest, those that had were never heard from again. Even Nights, when he had attacked Nightmaren all by himself, knew better. Nobody knew what was kept in the center of that ancient wood, nobody wanted to know. A sudden jolt sent a new wave of pain through Nights, and he passed out, his fuzzy vision catching the fleeting images of the group turning to fly over the northern edge of the forest. Then his vision went black.  
  
An image appeared in Night's head, looking at him with a funny expression on it's face. Nights couldn't make out the details, but he knew the face before him was old, and very wise. "Who are you?" Nights thought. "Why are you in my dreams?"  
  
"Nights, you were not the first to make such a mistake. Wizeman cannot be killed. He is immortal as Lord of Nightmares." The voice was gruff, but understanding. Nights had never heard a voice like it.   
  
"I defeated him, and he came back. He's going to keep coming back again and again. What's the point in fighting him? I can never win."  
  
"Nights, the answer will come to you, but you are leaving the boundaries of my power. Escape and come to me Nights, escape and come to my home. I will teach you. Never lose hope."  
  
Nights searched for the voice, but it was gone. He found that he could open his eyes once more, and looked behind him. The forest was shrinking behind him, and Stick Canyon loomed off in the distance. Already Nights could make out the mining equipment that Wizeman used to gain his natural resources. He looked down in sadness as the beautiful desert was covered with machinery and scaffolding that destroyed the natural beauty. Still the Nightmaren flew, their strength unwavering. Then, beyond Stick Canyon, the air grew colder, and the sky grew dark. Nights looked before him, his eyes going wide in true fear. Even this far, Nightmare Tower could be seen rising like a skeletal finger from the ground. For the first time since his capture, Nights startled struggling to escape. He wanted to be nowhere near that evil mansion. The two Nightmaren holding him looked down and strengthened their grasp on his arms.  
  
"He's starting to struggle!", cried out the one on the left.  
  
Reala laughed, he could sense the fear that his brother had. The shock of being imprisoned in Nightmare Tower would strike fear in even the most hardy of souls. He flew forward, forming a fist and punching the back of Nights head. His brother fainted once more, the struggle ceasing. Reala's smile only grew wider, his eyes looking up and catching sight of home.  
  
Nights awoke to find himself kneeling on a black marble floor. His hands were clasped behind him with some kind of cuffs and chain. He could feel the same cool metal clasped around his neck. He tried standing, but the sting of his ribs caused him to gasp in pain and fall back to his knees. He looked up, blinking a few times to clear his vision. Black stone walls rose on every side of him into the shadows above. No windows sat on the walls, no pictures or tapestries. Only the cold flickering of torches made any noise. He knew where he was, and his breathing grew quick and shallow. He twisted quickly, the chains clanking and echoing around the large throne room.  
  
"Greetings, Nights." From the shadows behind the throne, the towering image of Wizeman appeared. "It's so nice to have you home again."  



	3. Chapter Two: A Sweet and Bitter Taste

Body Nights: Into Dreams 

Chapter 2: 

A Sweet and Bitter Taste 

Nights kneeled on the floor, the chains biting into his neck, wrists and ankles. He stared in stunned disbelief at the large figure that was looming before him. The multi-handed wizard hovered off of the ground, his feet only a few inches away from the cold marble. There was a gleam in his eye, a look of both intense hatred, and intense joy. 

"Oh, Nights. If you could only know the happiness that I am feeling right now. To see you, kneeling before me in supplication! Oh my son, it is so delicious." Wizeman turned, hovering back towards the throne. "I have plans for you, Nights. At first it was my intention to merely return you back to the flock, erase your mind and fix the error that I obviously made. That would have, however, left out the intense pleasure I would feel in avenging myself. Your insolence at daring to try and destroy me has changed my thoughts. I intend to squeeze every ounce of pain I can out of you Nights, and then I will destroy you completely. There's no escaping this time, my son. There's no coercing little children to bring their red ideya to you. You are mine until I determine your usefulness has come to an end." 

Nights just shook his head, still in shock. "You shouldn't be here. I destroyed you, you shouldn't be here!" 

Wizeman smiled, the evil grin spreading across his face. "Still stuck on that, Nights? Have your wits totally escaped you? I am back, my son, and this time I intend to carry out my plans for the taking of the human's world. No longer will I be a slave to their dreams." 

"We exist because of them, Wizeman, not the other way around. You cannot control that which created us." 

"Poor, pathetic Nights. The created shall become the creator. I will control both worlds and become the most powerful being in the galaxy." 

"I'll stop you Wizeman, as I did last time." 

"A fluke!", spat the wizard, his fury rising in an instant. "I won't underestimate you again Nights. I believed you were no threat and that was why I foolishly imprisoned you in an ideya temple. This time, however, you shall be imprisoned in my own tower, where nobody can reach you." Wizeman clapped all five hands together at once, creating a loud boom which echoed throughout the large throne room. "This conversation is over. I have plans to make, I have lands to retake. You've cost me a great deal, and now I must reclaim it all." 

Two Nightmaren guards came in and took Nights by his arms. They started dragging him out of the tower as he shouted out, "I'll stop you Wizeman! I'll find a way out of here, and I'll stop you!" 

Wizeman paid no heed to the boisterous shouting. "Take him to the ninth level and place him in a cell with no windows." The two guards nodded and dragged him away. Nights eyes narrowed, a snarl taking hold of his mouth. 

Nights was hauled roughly into his cell and liberally tossed inside. The chains rattled loudly around the hollow chamber. The sound of the door slamming closed behind him and the locks cranking home caused Nights to almost weep. It was a dreadful sound he thought he would never hear again. He huddled there alone for a while, slowly rocking and mumbling to himself about the unfairness of it all. Wizeman was supposed to be dead, but he wasn't. Reala was supposed to be gone, but he wasn't. Now there were more Nightmarens than ever, Nights had counted 15, and he was pretty sure there were more. He was trapped inside Nightmare Tower, on the ninth level, the lowest underground level there was. There was no getting out of this one by himself, he was stuck. He looked up and about. He could clearly make out the layout of his cell by the torch light that shined in through the barred opening on the door. There was very little in the way of anything. No window, no straw mattress, nothing. It was a bare cell intended to be as uncomfortable as possible. Nights first thought was how to get out of this place. He would need help, but nobody out there was strong enough or brave enough to enter this place to come and get him. No, the kind of help he needed didn't exist in this world. It would have to come from the human's world. He would need the help from his friends. This wouldn't be like the ideya temple, however. They would have to be close, very close before he could reach them. Nightmare Tower stood in the exact same dimensional space as Twin Seeds Tower in the human world. In the ideya temple, Nights could have gone and sought out those with the red ideya needed to release him. This time, however, they would have to come to him. They would have to bring the red ideya directly to Nightmare Tower, to the home of the one person who craved it the most. Wizeman needed red ideya to transcend worlds, just like Nights did. Was the danger too great? No, the danger would be necessary in order to gain him his freedom. He had to stop Wizeman, permanently. 

How, though, was he going to stop Wizeman? The Lord of Nightmares could not be destroyed, his power was to great. Would Nights have to constantly fight the wizard, destroying him for a time only so that the evil being would come back and Nights would have to fight again? There had to be some way to destroy him permanently. There just had to be some way. What had happened over Mystic Forest? There had been a voice, a voice telling him to keep up hope. Hope for what? For a life constantly spent trying to beat Wizeman? Whoever that voice was, it had a way to stop the wizard permanently. Nights knew that. That voice would be the one he would have to search out. Nights sat down in a dark corner, crossing his legs and closing his eyes and calming himself. 

A plan formed in Nights' mind. It was a plan that would require great patience. He would have to wait for Claris or Elliot to come into Twin Seeds Tower, as close as possible to Nights. Then he could cross the chasm between the two dimensions and speak to them. He did not know how long it would take. Perhaps a day, perhaps a month, perhaps years. Nights would be patient, however. He would have to be, it was his only way out. 

Elliot laughed with his friends, pointing at the drawing that his friend Daren had drawn on a napkin. "The elephant tried to eat the peanut butter!", he howled again. "That's the funniest thing I've ever seen!" He laughed harder, his friends becoming infected with the mirth and quickly joining in. The joke itself had made no sense, but with the drawing, it was completely clear. "Daren, you're hilarious." Elliot looked down at his watch, wiping away the tears forming in his eyes. "Oh no! I promised to meet Claris in fifteen minutes. I'm going to be late!" His friends jeered him, poking him in his sides and shouting out things like, "Whipped..", and "Ball and Chain", to their friend. Elliot just stood, smirking, "Yeah..yeah. I'll catch you guys later at practice." They all waved good-bye and the boy ran out the door, hopping onto his bike and riding for his life. Elliot had grown since his adventure with Nights, in more ways than one. His life was great now. Daren and Alex had been his only friends that day he went out and showed those older guys who ruled the courts. Now he had a lot of friends, although Daren and Alex were still his best-friends. Basketball was going great for him. He was on the Twin Seeds High School varsity team, and there was even talk that he might get a scholarship to go play at State University. Of course, that was a couple of years away, and he was still enjoying high school far too much. Another thing that had greatly improved was his love life. Claris was the best thing that ever happened to him. Of course, he wasn't going to admit that to anyone. Yes, he told himself, he was in love with the redheaded singer. Of course, he wasn't going to admit that one either. Ever since he saw her in Twin Seeds Tower, he couldn't help himself. He would do anything if she asked him. Lately, however, she had been growing distant from him. Her singing career was starting to take off. She was being asked to be in all sorts of musicals, and Elliot was truly happy for her. The problem was her time, and he wasn't getting enough of it. Her agent and her producers had her totally wrapped up. Claris tried to make time for him, but it always seemed to fall through. Today, however, she had asked him to meet her in a secret spot. A private place that they only knew and he wasn't going to miss out this time. 

He rode his bike as quickly as he could, weaving in and out of traffic like a snake through a bush. He saw the quiet park up ahead and smiled. He was going to make it in plenty of time. He was going to be out of breath, but he was going to make it. He rode his bike into the park, past a couple of startled elderly ladies, and around a group of kids chasing a dog. He laughed right along with them, and then he saw Claris' red-hair. There she was! He turned his bike and rode right towards her. 

"Claris!", he shouted. She spotted him and smiled, waving him over to the bench by the lake that she was holding. Her eyes lit up brightly when she spotted him. It had been a while since she had seen Elliot. Her singing was keeping her busy. Yes, she loved Elliot, and unlike him, was unafraid to tell anyone about it. She always tried to make time for him in her schedule, but it never seemed to work out. So she had scheduled some quiet time for her and her boyfriend. She had actually sneaked out of her house, out from underneath the constant watch of her agent. He was always there, making sure her time was filled. She constantly asked him to schedule in some time for Elliot. Her agent, however, always seemed to frown and shake his head. "No time, no time.", he would mumble, and then he would change the subject. Claris would sigh and listen to her schedule for the day, wishing she could see her boyfriend. Today, however, when her agent started reading off the schedule and had once again not put in Elliot, she ran off in both anger and desperation. 

"Hey Claris, what's the matter?" Elliot laid down his bike and walked over, sitting down next to her. "You don't seem to be yourself today, and I haven't seen you in school in a while." 

She sighed, leaning in close to Elliot. "I'm sorry Elliot. I've been wanting to see you lately, and I haven't been able too. My agent has my life booked up and hardly let's me out of the house. He's even hired me a tutor to teach me privately. I don't have any free time anymore." 

"Claris, you need to be a little more forceful with that agent of yours. You've always been a little too nice, you need to assert yourself." 

"He's only looking out for my interests. At least that's what he tells me." She sighed again, taking Elliot's arms and wrapping them around her. She snuggled in closer to the boy, smiling. "I don't care right now, though. I just want to be with you." And they sat that way for a time, watching the water on the lake and not saying a word. 

The throne room in Nightmare Tower was quiet as Reala floated in. He landed in front of the throne and knelt, waiting for his master to come. He only had to wait a few moments before the familiar boom of the wizards voice came. "Reala, my most trusted Nightmaren." 

"I have come in answer to your call, my master. What is it that you wish of me?" 

"The time has come to retake Dreamworld. I am entrusting you to send out your Nightmaren teams to reclaim that which was once ours. Do not fail me." 

Reala nodded his head, eager with anticipation. This was the day that he had waited so long for. To fight and destroy all that which had been built by Nights. It was time to conquer. He lifted off the ground and bowed, "It'll be a pleasure, master." 

Wizeman watched his prodigal son fly off. So eager to destroy and hate, so eager to please. Wizeman went to his room, floating out to his balcony to watch Reala fly towards the encampment where his Nightmaren army lay waiting. "Reala, you are far too eager to destroy."; thought Wizeman, "You are far too eager to hate and kill. That was my failing with you and Nights. Too much to you, too little for Nights. This time, however, you were a little too prepared, a little to eager to get started. I know you Reala, what are you planning?" 

Reala smiled wickedly, landing in his camp and walking over to his troops. "It is time, all of you know your missions. Go forth and conquer." There were cheers from the crowd as one by one they took off, flying in every direction to begin the task of domination. One, however, remained. A sleek looking Nightmaren, dressed all in black. Her red eyes peered at Reala from under a black mask. Her entire body seemed to be nothing more than a shadow as it walked forward. "And the task for me, General Reala? You never gave me an assignment." 

Reala only laughed, "For you, Umbrae, I have a special assignment. It's an important one, for my most trusted lieutenant." In the quiet of the night, Reala laid out a plan to the dark Nightmaren. After a while, the shadowy figure lifted off the ground, her flight taking her towards Soft Museum. Reala's smirk only widened as he watched Umbrae leave, his plans falling into motion nicely. It was only a matter of time before he would have everything he always desired. 

"Claris! There you are!" The voice cried off from the distance as a balding man with a ponytail climbed out of a limousine. He was heavy, and he knew it. His clothes tried to hide the ever-growing belly under fashionable threads and coats, and it failed miserably. A pair of ever-present sunglasses hid the eyes. Yes, thought Elliot, he was the stereotypical music agent. He had slime written all over him. 

"Gerald, how did you find me?!" Claris stood up, staring in amazement as her agent crossed the lawn. 

"What are you doing here, babe? You should be home, practicing. Now get in the car and I'll take you home." He put his arm around Claris and started pushing her towards the car. "Come on, gotta keep that lovely voice up and in shape." 

"Gerald, no..wait..no.." Claris said, trying to turn around and go back towards Elliot. 

"Hey, let her go." Elliot said, coming up and grabbing Claris' arm. "She doesn't want to go yet." 

Gerald turned around and seemed to notice Elliot for the first time. "Who are you, little man?" His hand reached out once more, snagging Claris back from Elliot almost as though she were a possession. 

"I'm Elliot, Claris' boyfriend. And we were talking until you interrupted." 

"Look, little man. Claris doesn't have time for you. She's going to be a superstar. Do you want to intrude in on that? Hmm? Every minute she's not practicing, she loses a little more of that precious tone. Do you want to be the one to destroy her career?" 

"Well, no. I..guess..not." Elliot stuttered, looking at Claris. She pleaded with him with her eyes. She shook her head slightly. 

"Good, now scamper off with your bike, and let the superstar get back to being a superstar." Gerald turned, moving Claris into the limo and then stepping one foot inside. "I would advise you, young man, to stay away from her. She's above you now and has not time for this silly thing you think you have. You come near her again, and I'll have you jailed for harassment. Good riddance." He stepped all the way in and closed the door behind him. 

Elliot wanted to say something, wanted to shout out that it was wrong, but he didn't want to stand in the way of Claris' dream. In the end, he could only hang his head and take his frustration out on an innocent rock on the ground. He kicked it hard after the limo. "It's not fair.", was all he could finally mutter out. He walked back over to his bike, picking it up off the ground. As he was about to ride away he spotted a note on the bench. He picked it up and opened it, reading what was inside. 

Hello my dearest Elliot, 

I hope you get this. In four weeks it'll be our one year 

Anniversary and I want to do something 

Special with you. Meet me at Twin Seeds Tower 

At 7:00 P.M., and we'll celebrate 

Love, Claris 

All right, four weeks. It's a date. He looked up and smiled, placing the note neatly in his back pocket. He had to go and get a present. One year anniversary, that's great. Off in the distance he spotted Twin Seeds Tower. "Hmm," Elliot thought to himself, "It looks like a storm is brewing. Better get home." He turned his bike and pedaled for home. 

"Nights, my son. It is time for our first lesson." The door to the cell opened and Nights opened his eyes. Wizeman stood in there, looking down at the small Nightmaren with a cat o' nine tails in each of his five hands. "We'll go easy today. Torture is something that needs to be done gradually, this way I can get more and more pleasure out of hurting you." 

Nights' eyes went wide with fear. Wizeman floated in closer to the Nightmaren, his smile becoming broader. "Oh yes, my son..we have so much time together now." The door closed behind Wizeman with a loud clank. The two guards just stood on either side of the door, not paying any attention to the screams inside. 


	4. Chapter Three: Released Into The Fire

Body

Nights: Into Dreams 

Chapter 3 

Released Into The Fire 

In the darkness, she could only hear the coughing. He was in there, in the dark shadows at the back of the cell. The torch light reached only so far into the cell, the far back recesses could not be seen. The female Nightmaren was hesitant to go in. She looked down at her own hands and they were shaking with fright. This was Nights, the one who had destroyed Wizeman's plans, she had to go in there and meet this frightening being. No! She had to go in there and heal it. She had heard stories. Stories of his tenacity, of his viciousness, of his evil. This was the being that Wizeman had taken all of his frustrations out on for the past four weeks. Every night the sounds of screams and cries could be heard even up to the first level. Some of the other prisoners in the levels above had gone mad with the screams. Now, finally, Wizeman requested that a healer go in and look at the rebel Nightmaren, and she had been chosen. She took a deep breath and nodded to one of the guards standing to the side. 

There was a loud clank that startled her so, and then a loud creak as the door opened wide into the cell. She was handed a torch, and told to be careful. "Even wounded," the guard said, "he's still very dangerous." The female Nightmaren nodded her head, took another long breath and walked inside. The door clanged shut behind her and her hand clasped the torch tighter in her hand. She felt safe in the warm light as her timid voice spoke. "H..he..hello?" 

"Go away, whoever you are, and leave me alone. Wizeman hasn't won yet, I'm still alive." The voice was deep, rich, and struggling to get out. 

"I'm sorry. I'm here to heal your wounds. I've been ordered by Wizeman to do so." She walked towards the back of the cell, holding the torch out in front of her. Her steps echoed in the silence, her breathing heavy in the chill, damp air. Finally the torch light reached him, and the female Nightmaren let out a little gasp. Nights laid on the floor, bruises all across his face, arms and hands. His clothes were torn to shreds with numerous slash marks clearly seen. Both eyes had been turned black, and his lips had been split in numerous places. There was blood everywhere. The only conclusion that she could come to was that this evil Nightmaren was a mess. Then she saw his eyes. Those purple colored eyes. They were passionate, almost beautiful. Those purple eyes were also intense, and filled with emotion. She hadn't expected that. 

"Heal me?", that voice said. "Why does he want me healed?"  


"W..w..well, um, he wants you healed so that he can continue with his, what he termed, recreation with you." She kneeled down next to Nights, looking him over carefully. "I'll tell you something, you're not what I expected." 

"What were you expecting, and, what is your name?" 

"Well, my name is Pirdy. I was expecting something with sharp fangs and claws ready to destroy me in an instant." She chuckled a little, reaching into her bag and taking out a bottle and some swabs. "I expected someone like Reala." 

This illicited a chuckle from Nights, and then a wince as he doubled over in pain. "I'm nothing like my brother." He laid back and looked at Pirdy again, taking a deep breath to try and stop the throbbing in his ribs. Those intense purple eyes scrutinized the young female Nightmaren. It was apparent that her favorite color was gold, it was everywhere on her, from her floppies to her boots. Only her sleeves were white and they hung all the to her wrists where they flared out. On her chest was a red jewel in the shape of a heart, and it shone even in this dark cell. 

She blushed slightly as she dabbed lightly at the cuts with the ointment. "What are you looking at?", she finally said. She looked at him with her own blue eyes, blinking as she tried not to look at all his wounds. 

"You, you're nothing like the others. You're a healer, and you're eyes belie your intelligence and innocence. You're not a warrior, are you?" 

She shook her head, taking a different swab in her hand and dipping it in the ointment bottle. "No, I'm no warrior. I'm tolerated because I can heal wounds and cuts. I'm jeered and scoffed at because I don't haul around a sword and hack others to pieces." As she spoke those words, she started poking harder and harder at the wounds until Nights winced loudly. "Sorry," she said, "I get a little carried away when I start talking about it. Have you ever felt like nobody understands you, that they enjoy laughing at your foibles and faults." 

Nights nodded his head, smiling a little. "Yes, I do. It's why I ran away. I learned what Wizeman was planning and couldn't be a part of it." His voice was soft, quiet and sympathetic. "I ran away in anger. I know how you're feeling, lonely, maybe even like it's your fault." 

Pirdy looked up once more, lightly nodding her head as Nights spoke those words. "Yeah, a little." She sat down, feeling a little more comfortable around the enemy Nightmaren. "So you felt that way too?" 

Nights nodded his head, his smile growing. "Yeah, I felt that way too." 

Pirdy continued healing Nights for a long while, talking with the 'maren. Her hands continued to heal his wounds, her mind racing at the new possibilities for her future. 

Elliot had waited four long weeks for this reunion. He had even gone out to get a haircut and everything. He had taken all of the money he saved and had bought her a beautiful guitar that he knew she wanted. He had called and told all of his friends that he wouldn't be home tonight, that he had something important to take care off. He hadn't told anyone where he was going, and who he was going with. Elliot had taken special care not too, he didn't want anyone interrupting this night. For the first time in a long time he was going to get to see Claris all too himself. 

In her small apartment where she spent most of her time, Claris was feeling very tired. She couldn't shake it off. She had slept soundly all night, not even dreaming which was unusual for her. Her body felt like it hadn't slept at all, it was slow to react to everything. She stood up from her couch, however. She had been looking forward to this day for a long time, and she wasn't going to let a little thing like a lack of sleep get in the way of her night. She had pulled every string she could think of to get this night off. She had even called her mother who was traveling abroad to tell Gerald to let her have the night off. Gerald had finally given in from the pressure, reluctantly giving her a few hours to go see her boyfriend. He had furiously scribbled off something he had scheduled in his book and looked at her with hurt eyes. "I try to give you everything, but if you insist on slacking off, then fine. Go see your boyfriend, but when you get back, you'll have to practice hard to make up for the time." He stormed out of the room, closing the door hard behind him. 

Claris grabbed the picnic basket that she had prepared and took the bus to Twin Seeds Tower. On the way she fell asleep on her seat and it took someone next to her giving a hard shake to wake her up. She woke up still feeling groggy and tired. She nodded her head, yawned and stepped off the bus. There stood the Tower, soaring above her into the night sky. She smiled, remembering the first day that she saw Elliot in her own world, not the Dream World. He ran down the aisle, his eyes wide at seeing her for the first time as well. She knew then that they were destined to be together. It had been the greatest night of her life. She entered the Tower, looking about for Elliot. The door to the theater was open and she walked through. There she saw him looking up at the stage and wondered if he was remembering that night as well. 

"Elliot!", she called out, running down the aisle towards him. He turned and waved, a smile coming to his face. He waited at the bottom of the aisle, opening up his arms and embracing her warmly. "I've missed you, Claris." She only smiled and sighed warmly, finding comfort in his embrace. She hadn't seen him in four weeks, and had only briefly talked to him on the phone. They embraced one another for a while, not daring to let go. 

Nights felt it, the stirring of a familiar dreamer nearby. Pirdy had gone, her mind changed forever from her talk with him. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to calm down and filter out everything around him. His breathing became deeper, and he felt himself drifting off. Yes, a familiar wanderer. It was Claris, and her dream spirit was close by. She was ready to fall asleep at Twin Seeds Tower! Someone was watching over him, that's for sure. Nights hadn't expected this to happen for a very long time, or ever. This was a total stroke of pure luck, but it was luck that he was not going to pass up. He waited for Claris to fall asleep, it was only a matter of moments. 

Elliot and Claris had set up the picnic on the stage in the theater. Claris had made sandwiches and had brought some potato salad and other picnic essentials. She looked at the food, but her appetite just wasn't with her. 

"What's the matter, Claris?" Elliot had noticed that she didn't look like eating, and now that he looked closer, he noticed that she didn't look well at all. Claris only shrugged her shoulders, looking down at the picnic blanket. She didn't say a word, her whole body not wanting to do or say anything. 

"Claris? Are you all right?" The sound of real concern caused Claris to look up at Elliot, the black bags under her eyes all of a sudden becoming clear. Elliot realized that she was only half here and half asleep. 

"No, I'm not feeling to well. I think I'm coming down with something. I'm tired all the time, I'm feeling groggy and listless. Mostly I'm just really, really sleepy." 

Elliot crawled around to the other side of the blanket, taking Claris in his arms. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I sleep like the dead, and Elliot, I haven't dreamed in weeks." 

Normally that wouldn't have phased Elliot, but he knew what she meant. Since their adventure with Nights, they had dreamed every night. Whether or not they saw their friend, it didn't matter, they always dreamed. Claris had not been, however, and that troubled him. 

"Maybe it's the stress from everything. I've heard that sometimes stars need time to adjust to their new lifestyle. You're just starting out and you're nervous and not getting the kind of sleep that you need, I don't know. What do you think?" She didn't answer. Elliot looked down and saw that she had fallen asleep against him. He only smiled a little, running his hand through her hair. "Maybe not." 

Claris walked down the familiar shadowy corridor, no sounds or colors barring her way. In the far distance she saw the bright light of the Dream World and started running towards it. She had found her way back! A sigh escaped her as she felt the familiar warmth of Spring Valley wash across her face. No, wait, it was too hot. She walked a little further forward and felt it get hotter. 

"Claris..." 

This wasn't right, she always came to Spring Valley. It was getting hotter as she continued to walk further down the tunnel. 

"Claris, can you hear me?" 

She was almost to the end of the shadow tunnel, she had almost crossed over. The heat had increased as she continued to walk down the tunnel, and it had made her even more curious. She could feel the heat, but she was not sweating. Do dreams sweat? Do dreams feel heat for that matter? Something wasn't right. 

"Claris, it's Nights, I need you to hear me. I need your help." 

She felt something in her hand. She looked down and saw a red jewel, something that she had never seen before. It glittered with it's own light, and it was warm to the touch. Claris held it up in front of her face and looked inside, her eyes focusing on the light deep within. 

"Claris, I need your help. I am in Nightmare Tower. I need you too come to rescue me." 

She gasped as she heard the voice for the first time. "N...N..Nights! Is that you? I can feel the dream Nights, I can feel the heat and the wind!" 

"Claris, your body is completely shut down. It's in the deepest stages of sleep. You're now closer to the Dream World than ever before. You can feel everything around you." 

"You mean, I'm in a coma?" 

"Yes, that is the name that you would call it. Claris, I don't have much time. I need your help now. Come to Nightmare Castle, find me and release me!" 

Claris swallowed hard as she continued to walk down the tunnel. The heat continued to assault her as she walked forward once more. 

"Nights, it's unbearably hot. What's happened? Am I going to Spring Valley?" 

"I've tried to bring you as close to me as possible. You're going towards Stick Canyon, and the desert there. In the distance you'll see a storm brewing. Head towards it and then you..." 

The words ended abruptly, the light inside the red ideya dimming a little. "Nights?", Claris said, "Nights, are you there anymore?" She shook the jewel as though that would bring the voice back, and then she sighed. "What's going on with you Nights, why are you in Nightmare Tower?" She continued to walk on down the tunnel, the light finally opening onto a scene of desert bliss. All around her there were the brown sands as far as the eye can see. In the far distance where the tall metal towers of Wizeman's Nightmaren traps. The magnets and the gravity pulls were all there, whirring away to protect Wizeman from the attack of a maren. Of course, it was all put to waste when Nights flew through it like it and attacked directly. Claris covered her eyes with her hand, shading her eyes as she spun about. It was all blue and bright as the eye could see, but there in the distance she saw the dark clouds of a storm. "I guess that's it.", she told herself quietly. With a dedicated determination, she turned on one heel and headed straight for Nightmare Tower. 

It had been a few hours since she had fallen asleep and Elliot had eaten almost everything on the blanket. She was sleeping so soundly that he didn't want to disturb her, but it was getting late, and they needed to get home. "Claris, come on, it's time to wake up. We've got to go." He shook her lightly, waiting for her to stir. When she didn't move, he shook her again a little harder this time. "Come on Claris, it's time to go." He moved back to the blanket, picking everything up and placing it in the basket. "Claris, wake up and let's get out of here." He looked back over to where she slept and crawled back over to her. "Claris, this isn't funny. Come on, you have to get up." He shook her again, this time very strongly. She still didn't stir. "Claris, Claris!" He leaned down and listened, and heard her breathing and her heart. What was going on here? "Claris, come on sweetheart, you gotta wake up." He lifted her up and started carrying her from the theater, his legs moving as fast as he could. 

Nights let out a long breath, smiling and nodding slightly as he did so. Claris had made it over to this side. She saw her own ideya, which means that her whole spirit was here, not just her dream self. That could be a problem later on, her whole spirit shouldn't be here. Nights opened his eyes, peering around the cell. It was quiet once more. He took this opportunity to get a few deep breaths, his bandaged ribs not causing him pain like they had for so long. Claris, thought Nights, wasn't going to make it across the desert and through Nightmare Tower alone. She was totally unprepared for what lay ahead of her. There wasn't just two Nightmaren now, Nights knew that but Claris didn't. It would take only one to catch her and bring her to a cell right beside him. He would need to send her some kind of help. Just then the cell door clanked open and a familiar figure walked inside. "Hello Nights, I'm here to check on your wounds." Perfect, thought Nights. 

Claris traveled across the desert, walking around the tall metal towers, and steering clear of the large magnets that continued to pulsate with power. She kept to the shade as often as she could, despising when she would have to wake out from underneath them. Her mind kept wandering back to the fact that she was feeling all of this. The heat, the thirst, the tired legs. When she had come before, she could have run for hours and not felt a thing. Now she could barely put one foot in front of another. "This is crazy," she thought, "I'm in a dream. I've never felt anything when I've come here before. What's going on?" She continued to ponder this as she walked across the desert landscape. 

Elliot rode with the love of his life in the back of the ambulance as it dashed towards the Twin Seeds Medical Complex. She looked so peaceful, he thought, lying there. He ran a gentle hand through her hair, brushing it out of her eyes. "Come on Claris, wake up for me. I need you here." The paramedic didn't say anything, he had seen it work before. He hoped it worked this time. The look on this kids face was enough to make the paramedic work twice as hard. This blue haired boy, with the black sweatshirt and the white T-shirt sticking out underneath. The green shorts, and the tennis shoes. He was the model teenager, but the look in his blue eyes spoke volumes more. This kid had seen things that had made him grow up a little faster. It was a look that he had once had himself. 

"It's all right kid, she's not going anywhere. She's just sleeping very deeply.", he finally said. 

"Sleeping? How deeply?" The look in his eyes showed the concern one reserves for a soul mate. "I..I..mean, what could make her fall into such a deep sleep." 

The paramedic shrugged, checking the IV he had placed into her arm. "I don't know kid, I'm not a doctor." The ambulance pulled into the hospital, the siren silencing itself. Then it was a flurry of action as she was taken out of the ambulance and quickly moved inside. Nurses and doctors hovered around her as they checked her vital signs and stats. They opened her eyes, prodded her with instruments and checked her blood pressure. It was a flurry of numbers and medicines and medical terms that caused Elliot to almost swoon. He couldn't catch anything they were saying, everyone was talking at once. Then a hand came on his shoulder. He turned around quickly and saw the friendly paramedic. He only smiled and led him outside. "Come on, let them do their work." 

He followed the man outside. The paramedic handed him a soda and said, "Listen kid, it's going to be all right. She's going to be fine. Twin Seeds Medical is one of the best in the state." 

"Thanks.", Elliot said, a little downcast. He kicked the ground, looking at his soda. 

"Kid, listen to me," he walked in front of Elliot and looked down at him, "Believe in her strength. Be there when she needs you most, and most importantly, never lose hope. I've seen people rise from their beds with the mere touch of fingertips. I've seen people who have slept for years awaken at a kiss. Magic happens, kid, and you know that." 

Elliot looked up at him, an astonished look on his face. 

The paramedic nodded his head, "You've been there. You've met him." 

Elliot spoke in a quiet voice, "Who..", he barely whispered. 

"The young man in purple who flew in your dreams." 

Pirdy nodded her head, looking at the floor at her feet. "What you want me to do will get me killed." She looked up at Nights, looked at his eyes and his face. "I just can't do it. I'm not a warrior like you, I wouldn't be able to defend myself." 

Nights nodded his head, the chains rattling slightly. "I understand Pirdy. You have to look at it from your own heart though. Not from what I need, and not from what the others think of you. No, you have to make this decision for yourself. What I'm asking from you is something that's going to change your life forever. It might be for good, and it might be for bad. One thing remains true, however, and that is it's better than living in fear and mockery all the time." 

Pirdy nodded her head, looking down at her medical bag this time and running a finger along the leather. She would no longer be laughed at. She could be free to practice her art with a friend who would treasure it instead of jeer it. "All right, I'll do it." 

Nights looked at her, "Are you sure you don't want more time to think about it? Again, it's a big decision to make." Pirdy only shook her head, as she stood up. "No, I'll go and find your friend and bring her here. We're going to get you out of here so that we can stop Wizeman." 

Nights smiled and nodded. "She's in Stick Canyon, just passing the trap area. Be careful, those magnets are very powerful. Steer clear of them. You can't miss her, she's the only one with red hair in the entire area." Pirdy stood up and nodded, walking out of the cell with a newfound sense of self. She took one more look at Nights and then walked out. 

Elliot walked into Claris' hospital room. Her body lay in a bed, her hair splashed all around her on the pillow. The doctor looked up and smiled. "Hi there. Who are you?" 

"I'm her boyfriend, Elliot. I'm the one that came with her to the hospital. What's the matter with her?" 

"Well, she's suffering from severe exhaustion. She's driven herself very hard for some reason and her body was unprepared for it. So, it just stopped working to allow it to recover. She'll be asleep for a while. We need to get in contact with her mother and father. Do you know their number." 

"Her father passed away, her mother is in Europe traveling on business. She's in the care of her agent right now." 

As though summoned by those very words, Gerald walked into the room. He was wearing the same clothing that Elliot saw him in the park wearing. Didn't this guy ever change? "What's going on," he bellowed. "What have you done to my singer." 

"I didn't do anything. She just fell..." 

"I don't want to hear it!", he hollered. "I want you out of here. She's my responsibility and I don't want you near her anymore." 

"B...b..but..I want to stay.." Elliot pleaded. 

"Forget it! I give her to you for a few hours and she ends up in the hospital! Get out of my sight." He shoved Elliot roughly out of the room, closing the door behind him. Elliot turned to look into the room only to have the blinds closed. He sighed and walked to a bench and sitting down with his head in his hands. He started to cry a little, shaking her head, this had to be the worst night of his life. A few minutes later, the doctor walked out and came over, sitting down next to Elliot. "You all right, Elliot?" 

He just shook his head, wiping his eyes, "My girlfriend is in a coma, her agent just kicked me out, and I can't even see her. How do you think I'm going to feel." 

The doctor nodded, smiling gently at the young boy. "Well, I can see your point. Tell me, what do you do when your not with your young lady friend there." 

"I play basketball, I'm on the Twin Seeds High team." 

"And what's the most important thing about playing basketball?" 

"What do you mean?", asked Elliot, a little curious. 

"Well, and coach will tell you that the most important thing to any sport is team work. No great athlete stands alone." 

The idea hit Elliot of what the doctor was saying. He needed backup because the agent held all the cards right now. He needed friends if he was going to see his girlfriend anymore. The doctor's grin grew as he saw the idea hit the boy's brain. He patted Elliot on the shoulder and said, "Call in your markers boy, and kick that idiots butt. I'm behind you all the way." Another pat on the shoulder, and the doctor stood and walked away. 

Yes, Elliot thought, that's what he would need to do. He stood up and walked over to a phone, picking up the receiver and digging for a quarter. Looking around, he plopped the quarter in and dialed. 

"Yeah, Daren, it's me, Elliot. Claris is in a coma and I need your help. Thanks man, I appreciate the words. Gather everyone up, and I mean everyone. I need you to head over to Claris' private apartment. I've got the key. Go inside and look up her mom's cell phone number. We need to get in contact with her. I'm at the hospital. Meet me here. Yeah..everyone. It's time I fought back." 


	5. Chapter Four: To Heal

Body Chapter 4:

**To Heal**

****

Nights sat at the back of his cell, fresh slashes and cuts bleeding down his purple costume. Wizeman had been particularly harsh this time. Nights could remember all of what he said. "Make contact in my prison will you!" Another slash across the back. "Try to reach your friends!" This time a kick in the ribs. "You are mine Nights! Mine!" A few punches across his cheeks, another slash on his side. "I stopped your message, Nights! I stopped you telling her where you were and how to reach you! None of it got through!" 

Yes, Nights remembered all of it. He coughed, a fresh stream of blood pouring out of his mouth and onto the ground. His purple eyes opened gently, looking about his cell again. He could hear his own breath coming in ragged gasps, and this caused him to wince even more. He wouldn't survive too many more of these sessions, even with Pirdy's superb skills. "Claris," he thought, "I need you here soon." 

----- 

Claris looked out at the bleak landscape, the desert stretching before her as though there were no end to it. In the distance, the horizon wavered with the extreme heat. She took a deep breath, the breeze blowing across her like a hair dryer, and she pushed her hair back from her face. "You've got to be kidding me. How far does this thing go?" She turned her head as some more of the machinery clicked and whirled in the distance. The complex machinery that surrounded her and prevented Nightmaren from attacking Nightmare tower was still working after all this time. It was old, Claris knew that much. The large gears, and the ancient technology was obvious. Claris knew, however, that it still worked. She wiped some sweat off of her forehead once more and continued on her journey. 

Pirdy continued flying as fast as she could. The desert was coming up swiftly, the dark and bleak landscape becoming light and dark browns. Cacti and tumbleweeds could be seen down below, speeding by quickly. It had been a very long time since she had flown through here, and really, no Nightmaren flew through here if they knew what was good for them. The powerful magnets could pluck you right out of the air and trap you forever. She had seen that happen once, and it was not something she would want to experience. She was scanning the ground below here, looking for this red-haired girl that Nights had beseeched for help. What could some human do? Of course Pirdy had heard all of the legends about the two humans and what they had done, and of course she did not believe a single one of them. 

Pirdy concentrated on the ground, searching left and right for this girl that would help. What she did not notice, however, was the piece of machinery off to her right. The powerful magnet hummed to life as its radar detected the flying Nightmaren nearby. Pirdy continued flying close to it, her mind focused elsewhere as she continued to think deeply on both this human and her newfound friendship with the enemy. She did not even notice the ground moving slightly to the right as she moved forward. The magnet had her in it's grip, and it was already too late for the poor healer. The Nightmarens movement slowed from going forward and picked up it's sideways movement. Pirdy blinked and awoke from her daydreaming to find herself slipping to the side. She turned her head and her eyes went wide as she saw the large magnet she was heading towards. She tried to turn, struggling to get herself away from the pull. She started flying, twisting herself until she was in a drill attack, hoping to use it's power to pull herself away. She turned up and down, side and forward, trying every trick she knew and every trick she had heard about. Nothing was working, she was simply not powerful enough. The magnet continued it's pull, finally trapping her. Pirdy struggled for a few more minutes, and then finally stopped. The steady hum told her that the machine would hold her until she ceased to exist. She did the only thing she could do now, she screamed out "HELP ME!!" 

----- 

Reala watched the moon rise on the horizon. The pale light washed across his face and he reveled in it. It was beautiful, the large disk in the sky. It would be his one day, as well as everything else. "You shouldn't be daydreaming, m'lord. You should be aware of everything around you at all times." The shadow that was Umbrae stepped out and looked at him with those eerie eyes. Reve only smirked as he turned around and looked at her. "Yes, whatever. Did you find what I wanted?" 

Umbrae shook her head, "No, I'm afraid not. Only clues to it's location. I need to go to the archives in the Soft Museum to search deeper, but I'll eventually find what I'm looking for." 

Reala nodded once more, "Excellent work. Rest for now and go to the Soft Museum when you are ready. We have time now that Nights is imprisoned down below." 

Umbrae nodded her head and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. Reala turned back to the moon, taking the glass of wine in his hand and raising it to the large disk. "Here is to you, my precious, and all the secrets that you posses. Secrets that will soon be mine." 

----- 

Claris continued walking through the desert, trying to stay in the shadows from the machinery. None of the magnets were affecting her, as a matter of fact, not a single one of them was turning on as she walked by. This was a huge source of relief for her, as well as a source of concern. She had believed that the magnets turned on for any living creature that passed by, she had seen the poor bones of Nightopians that had flown too close. 

"HELP ME!!", came the shout. Claris stopped, tilting her head to one side as she listened once more. "HELP ME, PLEASE!!" Claris turned left and then right, trying to find the voice. "HELP ME!!" She found it and started walking at first, then as the screams got nearer and more desperate, she ran faster and faster. Her breathing got thicker and thicker as she tried to find the source of the voice. 

"Hey! You! Down there! Help me!" Claris looked up and spotted the golden clothed Nightmaren, stuck to a magnet like a fly in a spider web. "Stop gawking at me and get me down from here." 

Claris was stunned, it was another Nightmaren! The floppies, the ideya on her chest, even the unusual boots. It was another Nightmaren! She continued looking at her even while she screamed down. Finally Claris spoke. "Who are you?"  


"My name is Pirdy. I'm a medical Nightmaren from Nightmare Tower. I'm out here looking for you, I guess. Now get me down!" 

"Looking for me? Why are you looking for me?" 

"You're friends with Nights, right? The human from the other side. You're name is..um..um..Clarion or something. No, wait, Claris. Yeah, Claris!" 

Claris gasped, nodding her head slowly. This Nightmaren knew her, and knew her name. 

"Great! Now get me down from here! Come on, this hurts." 

------ 

Elliot didn't hear the teacher. Later that afternoon his heart wasn't in the game. He ate halfheartedly at the dinner table, and then spent the rest of the night out back on the porch. His parents were a little worried, he was usually pretty active at night. He was either playing video games or out back practicing, or out with his friends. Tonight, however, he was unusually pensive and quiet. He heard the phone ring and he heard his mom answer it. A few moments later she came outside, smiling a little. "Hey Ell, it's Claris' mom. She wants to talk to you." For the first time that day, Elliot had a smile on his face as he went into the house. 

----- 

Claris laughed as she listened to Pirdy gripe about the magnet. She looked around for the control box as she listened to the healer curse and scream about her predicament. Some of them were pretty funny, some were completely outrageous, and some were outright naughty. Finally Claris looked up and said, "Where is Nights, by the way?" 

Pirdy looked down and said, "He's in Nightmaren Tower. Wizeman is torturing him to death. I am supposed to take you inside and help you get him out." 

Claris found a metal box and opened it, speaking to Pirdy as she looked at the wires and buttons inside. "And just how do you plan to do that?" She pressed a button inside the box and a few moments later heard an "oof" and a cloud of dust appeared around her feet. She winced as she realized what happened and she turned slowly around. Pirdy laid flat on the ground, her costume covered in sand and dust. Claris came running over and kneeled down beside the Nightmaren. "Are you all right? Pirdy?" 

The Nightmaren groaned as she looked up, her face covered from top to bottom with sand. She glared at Claris and gave her a look that spoke volumes on how she felt right there at that moment. The girl helped the Nightmaren stand up and dusted her off, apologizing all the while. 

"Look, Claris, there's a way to get you inside the tower. I have this Nightmaren costume inside my pack. Put it on, and the floppies. We'll spirit you in as one of us and I'll take you right downstairs. Just carry the pack and don't say a word and we'll be all right." 

Claris went behind one of the towers and changed clothes, putting on the Nightmaren outfit. It was light, almost silk-like, but it was stronger than anything she ever felt before. The floppy headdress almost molded to her head without feeling binding or tight against her. It was completely comfortable, although a little immodest. It fit tightly to her body and tended to show her off a little too much. Claris was almost embarrassed, she wouldn't wear this in public on her planet. Stepping out from behind the screen, she looked at Pirdy, who turned to examine her with a little worry in her eyes. "Hmm..a little loose." 

Claris climbed onto Pirdy's back and after a moment of adjustment, Pirdy grunted and lifted off the ground. After another moment of readjustment, they flew off towards Nightmare Tower. Pirdy spoke above the wind which streaked across they're faces. "Can I ask you something, Claris?" 

"Sure, ask away.", she replied. 

"When..I mean..well..when you and Nights were fighting Wizeman, were you ever scared?" 

"Sure, lots of times. There was nothing worse, however, when Nights would disappear and I would be on my own. There was a constant ringing sound, some kind of alarm guardian that would chase me everywhere until Nights came back. It was almost eerie in it's pursuit. It always knew where I was, no matter what. It chased me and hounded me. The only place I was safe was an Ideya temple." 

"Sounds terrible. Is it chasing you now?" 

Claris peeked up again. The alarm guardian should indeed be chasing her down. There was nothing around her as far as she could see. She remembered the spotlight, and that eerie ringing would always show up right after Nights would have to leave. It wasn't there now, though. Was she so far into her coma that the alarm guardian didn't even know she was there now? What was going on? "No, it isn't chasing me. It must be something to do with the way that I got here." 

"What do you mean, got here? You're a dreamer, aren't you?" 

"It's a little more than that. I'm actually in a coma back on my world. Sort of an intense sleep. I don't know. Nights could probably explain it." 

At the very sound of that name, the desert started turning from it's bright and shiny day, to the permanent darkness that was the Nightmare zone. The moon shown with a bright intensity tonight, like a giant eye that was here to observe the events of the next few hours. Claris stared at it's intensity, it was ominous and alive. She continued to stare at it as Pirdy started towards the ground. "We're going to have to walk from here. If you don't fly in, everyone will become suspicious." She landed with a gentle thud on the ground and gently set Claris down behind her. "Go on over to those bushes and pick those leaves. Stuff as many as you can into this backpack." 

"Why am I doing that, and what are these leaves?" 

"I'm making an excuse for us to walk in instead of flying, and those leaves..well..they're nothing more than regular leaves. Nobody else will know that though." 

Claris was already getting to like Pirdy. 

----- 

The park was quiet as Elliot walked through with his bike. He needed a little peace and quiet away from his family and friends. Everyone was concerned and everyone tried their very best to cheer him up or help him. He needed to get away from all of that. The park offered some much needed tranquility. 

"Hey, if it isn't my dreamer friend.", said a deep and rich voice. Elliot turned and saw a familiar face. It was the paramedic that had taken Claris to the hospital, and also the one who had admitted meeting Nights before. Was this his purple friends way of bringing them together, or was it sheer coincidence. 

"I think I remember your name. Elliot, isn't it?" 

"Hi, I was just on my way to the hospital. Yes, it is. I'm sorry, I didn't get your name sir." Elliot brought his bike over and sat down on the bench where the paramedic was. 

"My name is Geoff, and it's nice to see you again. How are you doing? I heard your friend was in a coma. I'm sorry." 

Elliot only nodded, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Everyone wants me to start bawling and crying all over the place, but I don't feel like it. My friends and family have this expectation of what I'm supposed to be doing. I don't know." 

"That's all right, everyone has their own way of handling these things. I know one thing, however, and that is if you believe hard enough and strong enough, everything works out well in the end. I've seen it happen to many times to be told anything else." He took a bite of a sandwich that he had and looked over at Elliot. The boy had his head hanging low, his eyes on the brink of letting loose a fountain of tears. "This boy needs some help, whether he knows it or not.", thought Geoff. He reached down into his lunch box and took out the other half of his sandwich, handing it over to Elliot. The boy looked at it for a moment and then took it wordlessly, taking a bite. Geoff smiled and said, "Tuna salad, made it myself. I hope you like it." 

"It's very good.", said Elliot around a cheek full of food. "How did you meet Nights?" 

"Wow, right to the point. I like that. I met Nights, I don't know, when I was about 14, I guess. I was having really bad nightmares and he found me and helped me out. The nightmares went away and I wasn't afraid anymore. Ever since then, I've been able to fulfill my dreams. I'm a paramedic, I help people out. I've got a great life. I'm very happy." 

"You don't see him anymore, do you?", he asked, looking up from his food. 

"No, I don't. And when your dreams come true, you won't either. That's how it works.", Geoff said with a solemn voice. "You've been one of the lucky ones, Elliot, you've actually met him. There are so many others out there that will never know that joy." 

"I actually haven't seen him in a long time. Since I made the team, actually. We risked our lives together in trying to defeat Wizeman, and now..now I don't hear him." 

"I know, I know. It's like a part of you has gone away. Like you've just lost a very good friend. There's a remedy for that, however." He reached down into his lunch bag. 

"How?", asked Elliot, watching as Geoff riffled through something. The only response was a laugh as he brought out two oranges. 

"Easy, you make new good friends. And life goes on." He handed one of the oranges to Elliot and said, "Eat up and I'll take you to the hospital." 

"You will? Why?" 

"Because that's what friends do.", Geoff smiled and peeled his orange. 

----- 

At the same moment, two friends walked towards the darkness that was Nightmare Tower. Claris hauled a very packed backpack filled with the leaves of several bushes. She looked down at her hand, only to find it shaking in fear. She clenched it into a fist, and then grabbed the strap of her pack, raising her head as she followed Pirdy. The other Nightmaren seemed pretty confident, she walked with her head held high and had almost a spring in her step. 

"STOP! Who goes there?" 

"Pirdy, First Healer to Wizeman and Aeria, Fifth Level Medic. We're returning with some herbs we picked nearby. I also have my assistant Sirila, Assitant Healer to Pirdy, First Level Medic." 

"Come forward and be identified." 

Pirdy waved Claris forward, taking the backpack as she did so. The gruff looking Nightmaren guard came out of his hiding place and walked up, his halberd lowered. Pirdy handed over the pack and said, "These are the herbs." The guard looked at them and nodded his head, handing the pack back to Pirdy. "Why didn't you fly in?" 

"The herbs are very fragile, and flying damages the leaves that I need for the poultice. That means we have to walk." Pirdy said all this with such a confidence that Claris almost forgot they were nothing more than regular bush leaves. 

"Very well, pass." The guard went back into the shadows, his form lost once more in the darkness. Pirdy took Claris' hand and they walked through, continuing towards the tower. 

----- 

Elliot rode with Geoff in the ambulance, watching the world pass him by. The hospital came into view and Elliot straightened up, taking another deep breath. "This is going to be interesting." 

Geoff looked over, raising an eyebrow. "Oh really?" 

An evil grin came across his face as he nodded, "Oh yes. You might want to come on up. It's going to be a lot of fun." 

The ambulance pulled up into it's parking space and Elliot and Geoff hopped out. Daren, Alex, and all of his friends from the team were waiting nearby. They saw Elliot and stood up, him. "Hey Elliot! We're all here." 

Elliot waved and walked over, "Hey everyone, this is Geoff. Geoff, this is the gang." They all walked over and introduced themselves. Alex said, "Hey Elliot, we need to get upstairs." 

"You're right, come on everyone. It's time." Everyone walked inside, chatting happily and getting to know their new friend. 

----- 

Claris and Pirdy walked down the steps towards the cell where Nights was being held. Getting inside had been very easy, but Claris knew better. She knew that getting out was going to be very difficult. She was hoping that Pirdy had it figured out, but was afraid to say anything. They walked down a long curved staircase, their footsteps echoing in the hallway. Claris took this time to examine the tower itself. It seemed as though darkness itself had been caught and turned into stone. Everything was black save for the areas where a torch light intruded its way in. There were a few windows that did nothing more than look out at the night sky outside. She shivered involuntarily and hugged her arms tightly about herself. 

"What's wrong?", came Pirdy's question. She turned, raising an eyebrow at the girl. "Why are you shivering, is there something wrong?" 

"This place is creepy, Pirdy? I mean, look around you. There's no light, no color, no happiness anywhere." 

"You're in the Tower of Nightmares. What were you expecting? Sunshine and bunny rabbits?" 

That pretty much ended that conversation. They finally reached the bottom, the stairs becoming a straight and level floor. They passed several doors with bars set in them that overlooked empty cells. None of them seemed to be in use, save for the very last one at the end of a long and narrow hallway. Pirdy cleared her throat as she said, "Nights, it's Pirdy. I'm coming in." 

There was no answer, only the dead silence that only an empty dungeon can bring. Pirdy looked back at Claris with worried face. After a moment, she repeated herself. "Nights, it's Pirdy. I'm coming in, so don't get riled up, all right?" Again, only the silence answered her. Pirdy took the key that was hanging close by and unlocked the heavy wooden door. She silently stepped inside, Claris following close behind. 

----- 

The wizard was furious. How had Nights done it? How had he made contact with the outside? He sat in his chambers, starring out at the large moon outside. His thoughts betrayed his love of Nights, he was truly proud of his son. The audacity, the nerve of this Nightmaren to continue to fight him through everything, and again his thoughts grew dark once more. How dare his own son fight against him, fight against everything he had built. He had created Nights, he had created all of these Nightmaren, he was their father, and they were his children. He had given Nights too much freewill. Again his thoughts came back to that one mistake, that one little thing that had caused his greatest creation to turn against him. Nights was supposed to be a subjugator, a terror, a true nightmare. Instead he was a hero, a knight, a Nightopians dream come to life. 

A deep breath escaped the wizards lips and he stood up. His armies had once more spread out and started to reclaim the territory that was lost in the fight against Nights. Stick Canyon, Soft Museum, Spring Valley, Splash Garden, all of them had fallen one by one. Only two areas had proven difficult. Something on the arctic island known as Frozen Bell had put up a furious fight. Likewise, something deep within Mystic Forest had prevented him access to that area as well. He turned to a Nightmaren standing in the shadows with his head lowered in respect. "Summon Jackal and Gillwing to me, it is of importance that I speak to them." The Nightmaren bowed deeply and ran towards the balcony window and leaped out into the night sky, flying towards the base camp. 

----- 

Pirdy knelt down besides Nights, placing a hand on his wrist and checking for a pulse. The Nightmarens breathing was labored and coming out in gasps, and new bruises and cuts were all over his body. Claris was kneeling on the other side of him, tears rolling down her cheek as she saw the poor condition of her friend. "N..Nights..can you hear me? It's Claris. I'm here." Her words could barely be heard, almost as if she was afraid it might cause him to slip further into unconsciousness. "Nights, come on, wake up. We need to get out of here." 

Pirdy shook her head, sighing. "It's no good, Claris. The wounds were just to great, he needs to rest in order to regain his strength. He's not dead, just unconscious." Claris sniffled and wiped her nose with the palm of her hand as she whispered again, "He's not dead, then we need to get him out of here. How are we going to do that?" Pirdy raised a hand and smiled, "I'll be right back, wait here and take care of the purple guy." She stood and trotted off back into the hallway. Claris looked down at Nights once more and put a hand to his face, smiling as tears continued to roll down her face. "Hey Nights, I'm here. After all that, you're not going to leave me alone in this world, are you? Who's going to protect me from the Shleep? Come on Nights." 

Claris' hands started to glow a deep amber. She held them up in front of her face as she watched them glow deeper and deeper red. "What's happening here?" 

----- 

Wizeman felt it. "Red ideya! Where is it coming from!" He stood, hovering off of the floor. "Nights!" With a swirl of dust, Wizeman rushed towards the stairway. 

----- 

Claris watched as her hands started to feel warm and tingly. They had grown almost too bright too look at and she didn't know what to do. "Touch me.", came the hoarse whisper. Nights looked up at Claris, his eyes open as he stared straight into the red light. "It's your red ideya, it's reacting naturally to your need to help me. Touch me on my chest." 

She reached down and placed both hands on Nights chest. She felt a surge and her breath escaped her lungs. Nights screamed in pain as he felt the hot energy enter his body and start to heal his wounds. Cuts started to heal themselves, barely leaving scars on his body. Bruises began to melt away and the black eyes seemed to fade almost instantly. Nights closed his eyes in pain, his hands clawing the floor. His body tensed once more and then breath again entered his lungs. 

Claris felt the energy leave her and she felt incredibly tired. She fell back onto her rump, her breath coming heavy to her as she stared in wide-eyed wonder at the Nightmaren in front of her. Nights was completely healed. There were no scratches, no bruises, nothing. He was sitting up and looking at himself, from the tips of his fingers down his legs and to his feet. There was nothing wrong with him anymore. 

"H..h..how?", was all she could ask. 

"You have more power than I thought." He stood up and walked over to Claris, reaching down to help her stand as well. "You posses the power of red ideya. It's what attracted me to you and Elliot in the first place. The red ideya represents bravery, but yours has taken on something more. You've become more powerful somehow. I don't know how, but you have." 

She listened for a moment and then smiled, nodding her head and hugging Nights tightly. "I've missed you my friend." 

Nights urked as he was hugged tightly, and then wrapped his arms around Claris and nodded his head, "It has been to long Claris, far too long." 

A moment later, Pirdy came in hauling a huge stretcher in her hands. "We'll haul him out on a stretcher and say that he's one of the many soldiers that has been wounded trying to take Mystic Forest." She looked up as she was about to speak again and gasped. Nights stood at his full height, his body healed of all it's wounds and damage. The inner-strength of this Nightmaren was impressive. Pirdy could see the proud Nights standing there with a smile on his face, his hands curled into fists and the muscles under his outfit almost rippling. "What happened? How?" 

As Nights was about to explain, he heard a shout of fury coming from up the steps. Someone knew what was going on, and that someone was coming down the steps to take some action. "There's no time to explain right now Pirdy, we've got to get out of here." 

Pirdy turned and looked out the door, "The stairway is the only way out. There's no other way." 

Nights nodded his head, taking a deep breath. "Then we'll have to fight whoever is coming down. Claris, stand behind me, Pirdy, you're behind her." He ran out of the cell, stopping as he rounded the corner. When he saw nothing, he continued forward, Claris and Pirdy close behind him. 

----- 

Elliot walked into the hospital room, followed closely by his friends. He opened the door to Claris' room and walked in with a purpose. Claris was still laying in her bed, the monitors all around her keeping track of almost everything about her. Her agent was talking on the telephone, looking out the window. His ponytail flopped about as his head looked left and right. Elliot walked in and leaned over the bed, kissing Claris lightly on her cheek. He whispered, "I'm here.", and then sat down and waited patiently for the agent to finish his phone call. 

Gerald finished his call and turned around only to find that snotty brat sitting in a chair close to the bed. "What are you doing here. I ordered you to stay away from this room." 

"I've decided that it is you who is no longer welcome in this room. I'm asking you nicely to leave now." 

"That's it, you little cretin. Claris is under my care while her mother is away. No get out or I'm calling security." Gerald was fuming, sweat dripping down his forehead as he continued to stare down Elliot. 

"I don't think so, you mountain of crap." Elliot stood up, walking around the bed. "You've kept her away from me for long enough. I've been given permission to tell you that you are no longer her agent, and are no longer necessary. Now I'm telling you to leave." 

"You..telling me that I'm fired. Who put that moronic idea in your head?" 

"I did.", came the rich, feminine voice at the entrance to the room. Her hair was the same red color as Claris', but it was longer, flowing all the way to her waist. Her eyes were a deep green, and there was a fire in them that could set the room ablaze. She was slender and athletic, still beautiful for being an older woman. Still beautiful for being Claris' mother. "Gerald, it intrigues me as to why my daughter is lying in a coma in a hospital room and I was not informed." 

"Wha..I thought you were in Europe? I didn't want to disturb you." 

"Well, thank goodness that Elliot called me to tell me that Claris was lying in a hospital bed. I flew home immediately when he told me, and spent a small fortune calling the hospital from the airplane to find out how my own daughter was doing." 

"She was in no danger," stammered Gerald, "I had everything under control until she insisted on seeing him." He pointed to Elliot, who was standing by the bed with his hand in Claris'. "He was the reason she went into a coma. He did something to her!" 

Claris' mother only raised an eyebrow as she walked closer to the bed. "Do you take me for an idiot Gerald? I've known Elliot for far longer than I've known you, he would never do anything to hurt her." She walked over to the door once more, the doctor standing there with a chart. He handed it to the woman and smiled, bowing politely to her. "Thank you Dr. Nightingale." She flipped open the chart with a delicate hand and read out loud. "According to my more than very capable doctor, Claris is suffering from severe exhaustion. The severe exhaustion has caused a number of systems to fail. This, in conjunction with her lack of proper nutrition, has caused her body to shut down and try to heal itself." She closed the chart and handed it back to the doctor, a smile on her face that didn't have a hint of happiness behind it. "It looks like you're the cause of all of this, Gerald. You working my poor daughter to the bone and not caring about anything more than your pay." 

"That's not true. I had her best interest. I'm sorry that she couldn't keep up with a normal schedule. She should have been a little stronger. Then maybe she could have been a star." 

The smile on her face became a frown, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Gerald actually flinched as he beheld that face, the face of a mother whose beloved child had been hurt by something evil. Gerald beheld the face of a mother's wrath. "I left you to care for the most precious thing in the world to me with the assurance from both you and your record company that I had nothing to worry about. I find out not from the record company, not from the ones I've entrusted my daughters health to, but from my daughters boyfriend that she is in a hospital room. Gerald, you're fired, immediately!" 

"You have no authority to fire me. She's signed a contract." He almost sneered as he thought himself proudly on top of this situation. 

Claris' mom only smiled as she reached into her purse. "Gerald, I hold a Ph'D in business and business law. Do you really think that I didn't read over the contract that my daughter signed." She took out a copy of the contract from her purse and opened it up. "Page 4, paragraph 4, it specifically says that as a parent, if the parent of the first party believes that the contractor is not performing duties in the best interest of the first party, then the parent may terminate the contract with due haste until a judgment from a lawful institution can render a proper finding." She held the contract out to Gerald and said, "I believe this constitutes noncompliance with the contract, and my lawyer will be contacting you, and your record company to file suit. So, once again, you're fired Gerald. Leave." She sat in one of the chairs, crossing her legs and setting her purse to the side, the fire in her eyes burning even brighter now. 

"I'm not leaving until my lawyers have a proper look at the contract." He sat down in a chair opposite Claris' mother and smirked, the "what are you going to do about it" smile coming across his face. 

"Well," Elliot said, "I thought you might say something like that, that's why I brought along some help." At that moment, four of the largest guys that Gerald had ever seen entered the room. "I'd like you to meet Brett, Carl, Eric, and Tiny. They are part of the offensive line for the State Champion Twin Seeds High School Football Team." 

The four young men surrounded Gerald, grim faces greeting his frightened one. Tiny, leaned down and said, "Elliot says you hurt Claris, she's a friend of mine. Now, I believe her mom asked you nicely to leave. Now..if you can't, we'll be happy to help you." He placed a firm hand on Gerald's shoulder and squeezed, causing the agent to wince in pain. "Now, can you leave on your own?" 

"Are you threatening me?" He asked, trying to turn around. 

"Oh no, I'm not threatening you at all." Tiny leaned in close to Gerald's ear and almost whispered, "I'm telling you, if you don't leave now, I'm going to toss you out that window and let the ground catch your fall." 

Gerald didn't believe that this kid was going to toss him anywhere. He believed this to be nothing more than a ruse to scare him into giving up Claris' contract. He shook his head and crossed his arms, "I'm not going anywhere." 

That's all Tiny wanted to hear. He stood up and said, "Gentlemen, parachute play 1." With a nod, each player took one leg of the chair and roughly picked Gerald up. The hauled him out the door, the agent hollering all the way. Within a moment they reached the opening marked "Garbage Chute" and set the chair down. They all laughed as they picked Gerald off the chair and dumped him down the chute. They listened as he hollered all the way down and out of sight. There were high five's all around. 

Elliot was kneeling beside Claris' mother's chair, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Arcman, I couldn't stop him from hurting her. I tried and I tried and each time he would get in the way." 

She placed a warm hand on his chin and lifted his head up. "It's all right Elliot, I know you tried." She leaned down and kissed him on his cheek, smiling and placing both hands on his face as she looked at him. "I'm very proud of you, you did very well." She hugged him fiercely, "I can see why my daughter loves you so much. Now, if you don't mind. I'd like some time alone with my daughter." She smiled as she looked at him, wiping a tear from her eye. 

Elliot nodded and left the room, silently shutting the door behind him. Claris' mom stood up and went over to the bed, brushing the hair out of her girls face. "I'm sorry for not being here for you baby, I'm sorry. Mommy's here now though, Mommy's here now." Tears stained her face as she leaned down and hugged her daughter tightly. 

----- 

Nights, Claris, and Pirdy ran up the stairs as fast as they could, hoping to reach one of the other levels before they were caught. They were not fast enough. 

Coming down the steps was a large shadow, with seven hands. Wizeman stared in stunned disbelief at what he saw before him, a healed Nights, back to his full health. "Impossible. Impossible!!" He looked at the others behind Nights. There was Pirdy, one of his finest physicians, and another Nightmaren. Another Nightmaren that he did not recognize. "You. Who are you?" 

Claris took off her headdress, her wealth of red hair spilling out. "My name is Claris Arcman." 

"A dreamer! It was your red ideya I felt." 

"That's right, Wizeman.", sneered Nights. "I'm all better, and ready to take you on." His face curled into a snarl as he remembered all of the things that Wizeman had done to him. 

Nights shot off the steps, twisting himself into a drill attack and charging at Wizeman. The wizard leaped to the side, avoiding the attack only by inches. He gasped as he turned and watched Nights twist and land against a wall, only to leap off and charge Wizeman once more. The giant wizard was not expecting that and got the broad end of a fist against his face. Wizeman lost his footing on the step and fell backwards. Claris and Pirdy dashed by the stumbling Wizeman, continuing to run up the steps and out of the way. Nights landed glaring and not even out of breath. The evil one looked up, raising a hand and sending a spinning whirlwind towards Nights. "Die!", he screamed as the tornado sped up the steps and sent up a cloud of dust in front of it. Nights leapt up, floating in midair and speeding up the steps behind Pirdy and Claris. He caught up with them, looking behind and watching as the tornado came closer. 

"Pirdy, fly..fly!" Nights shouted above the tornado as he reached down and picked up Claris in his arms. She seemed a little surprised as she was lifted off the ground. Pirdy leapt up and started flying, gaining speed as she went up the stairway. The tornado behind her screamed in fury, causing bits of stone and rock to fly at the retreating hero's. They flew hard, straining themselves to gain more and more speed and outdistance the tornado. 

"There's the door!", shouted Nights, pointing towards the brown wooden door at the top of the steps. He twisted himself once more and charged the door with his drill attack. Claris leaned her head into Nights chest, screaming as she became part of the drill. Pirdy slowed down for a moment, allowing Nights to burst through the wood and out into the open. The tornado was nipping at her heels as she sped up once more, following Nights out. 

It all became familiar to Nights now. He remembered everything about this evil castle. He flew towards the end of the large hallway, Pirdy right behind him as the tornado burst out of the stairway and through another wall. A furious scream came behind it as Wizeman made his way up. "Pirdy, follow me!" He flew off towards a large, circular, stained glass window set up high into the hallway. He held Claris tight in his arms as he lowered his head and smashed through it out into the cool night air. Pirdy smiled and followed through, twisting herself as she left the castle behind her for good. 

The wizard came bursting out of the stairway door, twisting his vile head as he saw Nights and company burst through the window. In a rage he sent one of his giant boulders spiraling towards the window and after Nights. It crashed through the wall, the sound echoing through the large hallway and causing Wizeman to bring his hands to his ears. When the dust settled, and the light came back, it was too quiet. Nights and the other two were gone into the nighttime sky. Wizeman looked out of the hole, shaking his head and laughing at the same time. "I am very proud of you my son, but I'm going to kill you. I'm going to destroy you with my own hands. I'm going to kill you!!" He shouted after Nights, each of his seven hands clenched into fists. 


	6. Chapter Five: Three Views

Body

Chapter 5 

Three Views 

Claris screamed in terror as she held on too Nights for her dear life. The blackness below ran like a fast stream. She looked up and saw that Nights had a determination on his face, he wasn't going to slow down anytime soon. Claris looked behind her and saw Pirdy, struggling to keep up, but also looking backwards to see if they were being followed. Claris was sure that they were, they had to be. Wizeman was not going to give up Nights so easily. 

"Nights!", she hollered upwards to her friend. "We've got to stop somewhere and try to figure out what we're going to do. Running blindly isn't going to help." 

"You're right, we do. Just a little further. We have to make it to Mystic Forest and then we can hide out there. Hang on!" Nights looked behind him again, checking to make sure that the other Nightmaren was keeping close. "Are you all right, Pirdy?" 

She nodded her head, but she was flying as fast as she could and she was still losing ground. Nights was fantastic, he wasn't even breathing hard and he was still gaining speed. Pirdy just shook her head and continued to try and keep up. Nights had only recently been healed, his wounds miraculously fixed by the hands of Claris. It had been the most magnificent thing that she had ever seen in her life, something that none of her studies and none of her books had ever shown her, or ever told her to be true. Yet this dreamer, this human had done it, had shown her true power. Pirdy shivered in the night. 

----- 

Wizeman was furious. The scars on the walls and the burnt furniture had been the brunt of that fury. Nights had escaped his grasp, he had escaped Nightmare tower, something that nobody had ever done before. He had taken his best healer, and who was that other Nightmaren? That other one that seemed to be to large to be one of his Nightmaren children. Who was she?! 

He launched another fireball at the wall, screaming in fury as it tore into a chair and ripped it to shreds. That seemed to have done it. Wizeman took a few deep breaths and looked about his apartment, noticing the damage he had wrought. His temper hadn't flared like this in a long time, not since Nights first decided to fight against him. He floated out onto his balcony, his favorite place to think. She was a dreamer, he knew that much. A human that was asleep in her own world, and had been brought here somehow. 

She had done more though. She had actually used ideya to heal. She had given Nights his strength back after he had suffered the rough torture placed on him. Nights had endured beyond even what Reala could have tolerated. Nights was truly the most powerful Nightmaren ever wrought. His courage, his willpower, his sense of righteousness was empowering him beyond what any of the other Nightmaren could tolerate. Then Wizeman's thoughts went back to the girl. The dreamer was more powerful than any who had come before her, and there had been some powerful dreamers. 

----- 

"There it is!", hollered Nights above the howling wind. "Mystic Forest will give us the cover we need." The night sky made the forest look like a rolling, dark ocean. Even the moon up above could not shine through the thick growth of leaves and branches. Nights started diving down, heading for the trees below. Pirdy followed close, and Claris continued to huddle close to Nights as the branches started whipping by. The Nightmarens acrobatic ability started to show itself as he ran in between the branches and trees as though they were nothing more than clouds in the sky. Pirdy didn't fare as well. She had to slow down to keep from smashing into things that she could not see. Nights continued to fly down, and Claris wondered if there was a bottom to this forest. They seemed to fly for another minute or two before the thick, leaf-covered ground appeared and the sound of thick boot steps could be heard as her friend touched down. 

"There, nothing can see us all the way down here." He set Claris down gently, smiling as he brushed some hair out of her face. "Are you all right, my friend?" 

She nodded quickly, wrapping her arms around herself and gently rocking. She was cold, and the forest wasn't helping. Nights gathered some of the wood that had fallen on the ground and piled it up in front of Claris. Around the pile he placed large rocks. "Hold on Claris, we'll get you warmed up." 

From out of the sky came a holler of terror as Pirdy hit her last branch and landed with a soft thud and a flurry of leaves. "That hurt.", she moaned. 

Nights just laughed as he walked over and leaned down to help the healer stand. "Are you all right, Pirdy?" Then from behind him came a fwooshing noise and then a comfortable warmth. Nights turned quickly to see Claris holding out her hands to the now lit fire. 

"Claris, did you do that?" 

The girl only nodded and looked at the fire, an amazement could be seen in her eyes. "I just wanted the fire lit, and there it was..lit." She looked at her hands and shook her head, "What's going on Nights? What's happening? I didn't used to be able to do all of this, and now..and now I can heal you back to perfect health. I can light fires with a mere thought. Who knows what else I can do?" Tears started to form in her eyes as she became overwhelmed by her new powers. "I don't know what's happening to me." 

Nights walked over and wrapped his arms around Claris and ran a gentle hand through her hair. "Calm down Claris, we'll figure this out together." He looked into Claris' eyes and smiled, "There is a Nightopian, at Soft Museum who may be able to help us figure this out. We'll go to seem him as soon as we are safe. Right now, try to get some sleep. Nothing is going to bother us here." 

----- 

From the darkness of the shadows, a pair of emerald green eyes peered at the three new arrivals. The one in purple had gathered wood from the ground, not off the trees itself. The one in gold seemed to be a little shaken from her flight into the forest, but all she had done was gotten closer to the well-protected fire. The last one was sitting, huddled close to herself and weeping. 

"No," the creature thought. "They were not a threat to the forest. Still, they need watching. Mystic Forest must be protected from the war that is coming." They eyes closed and disappeared into the shadows to watch the group slowly start to warm themselves and rest. 

----- 

Umbrae looked at the information that she had gathered. Her pure red eyes looked over the writings in the scrolls, each word written in a language that had not been used in hundreds of years. It was not easy for her to interpret this strange spidery script, even with the dictionary that she had stolen from Soft Museum. She was quickly getting a headache from it. 

"The beginning...will...", she flipped a few pages and continued, "..be the end." She sighed and shook her head again, "This is going to take forever. The elders were always so long winded." She looked down at the scroll and started unrolling it, and sighed again when she noticed it seemed to have no end. "I do not have the patience for research, I do know who does, however. The elder Nightopian at the museum, he would know what this says." 

In a moment she had the scroll rolled back up and stowed away in its case. Within another moment, she had the dictionary closed and placed in it's special case. Then both were stowed away in a backpack. 

A brief second later, she was airborne, heading towards Soft Museum and the answers hidden there. 

----- 

Nights looked at the sleeping Claris and ran a hand through her hair. Pirdy looked over at him and tilted her head, speaking quietly so as not to wake her up. "She's just a dreamer, isn't she?" 

Nights shook his head slowly, continuing his stroking, "She's progressed beyond that. I don't know how, but she has." 

"No dreamer has ever displayed such power, at least none that I've read about." 

"That's not true. There was once a dreamer who was so powerful that he almost became the Lord of Dreams. Unfortunately nobody knows what happened to him." 

"Lord of Dreams? There's no such thing," she smirked, "You're making this up." 

Nights smiled and shook his head, "No, I'm not. Wizeman will tell you, well, would have told you about him. It was a long time ago." 

Pirdy laughed and shook her head in disbelief, "Come on Nights, stop it. A Lord of Dreams? We all know that the Lord of Nightmares has always been the most powerful creature in Dreamworld. Lord of Dreams, what a foolish thought." 

Nights looked at her and said, "Pirdy, in the universe, everything has an opposite. Everything. The sun has the moon, the flowers have the weeds, and the water has the land. The Lord of Nightmares has an opposite, and that is the Lord of Dreams. Every so often, a powerful dreamer comes along, a human with an unquenchable desire. That person eventually comes here more and more often, seeking a dream that he cannot find in their own world. Eventually they come to exist here permanently, taking on the mantle of the Lord of Dreams. The legends say it's supposed to bring balance to Dreamworld." 

"They 'say' it's 'supposed' to happen?", asked Pirdy. 

Nights reached behind him for some more wood and chuckled, "Yes. It's never happened before, nobody knows. Nobody knows what kind of balance it's supposed to bring, nobody knows what kind of power the Lord of Dreams is supposed to hold. Nobody knows too much. Although, you know, there were some books in the library section of Soft Museum. We should check those out when we go to talk to this Nightopian." 

"Which Nightopian is this? I thought they were nothing more than silly little creatures that helped dreamers find their way." 

Nights shook his head and said, "Not so, not at all. Actually, they are very intelligent creatures. You just have to get to know them, is all. Some of the most wisest creatures in Dreamworld are Nightopians." 

Pirdy opened her mouth as though she were about to say something else when Nights raised his hand and laughed lightly, "Pirdy, we could sit up talking all night, but we need to get some sleep. More importantly, I need to get some sleep. We'll have plenty of time to talk tomorrow." 

The young Nightmaren sighed and nodded her head, laying down and dozing off. Nights leaned up against a tree and nodded off himself, leaving the fire to keep any wild creatures away. 

----- 

The pair of mysterious eyes had been joined by two more pairs of eyes. They all watched the campers fall asleep around the carefully tended fire. 

"Do we throw them out now?", asked the pair of blue eyes. 

"No, they have done no harm in any way.", said the familiar green eyes. "Leave them to sleep, Safaia. The one in purple seems smarter than the others. The one in gold is too young too realize what is going on around her. The other one..the other one I must speak to the Ancients about. Kumori, stay and watch them." The gray eyes blinked and nodded. 

The blue eyes closed and disappeared into the night, followed by the green, and finally by the gray. The night grew silent once more. 

----- 

Wizeman watched the silent shadow that was Umbrae speed out of the tower and into the night sky. It would just be dawning out beyond the borders of his realm, the bright sunshine of the Dreamworld spreading across the land. For his shadow Nightmaren to be speeding off now must mean that she found something very interesting, or needed to do something very important. His shadow Nightmaren hated the sunlight, preferring the dark shadows of night to do their ugly work. 

"Clawz, to me." Wizemans voice was almost hushed, but the Cat-maren heard it. He immediately bolted from his perch by his throne and entered the apartment, lowering his head in supplication. The Cat-maren was completely black, his head ending in the narrow point of a lion. His body was lean, however, like a jaguars. His tail swished gently from side to side and past his large paws with their even larger claws. Thus his name. "You called me, master." 

"I want you to follow Umbrae. She's doing something that I am not aware of and that disturbs me. Report only to me, and to nobody else." 

"Yes, master." A brief whisper of air, and Clawz was gone into the night. 

----- 

Claris awoke to a bright day of sunshine sparkling through the tree tops high up above. Mystic Forest had not changed one bit. The ground was still littered with the leaves that had fallen from up above, creating a multicolored floor. The trees still rose higher than most buildings in Twin Seeds. They were so magnificent, one could not help but lose breath and their awesome majesty. Along the floor of the forest were various road signs that seemed to point nowhere. Nights had told her one time, however, that if you knew how to read the signs properly, they could lead you deeper into the forest, almost to it's heart. Then Nights had warned her about the heart of the forest. "Claris, nobody has ever been to the heart of the forest and come out alive. It's not a safe place, but it's said that it is the most awesome sight in all of Dreamland." Ever since then, the humans curiosity had been peaked. What was in the center? What was there that Nightopians and Nightmaren alike had sought to find out about? Claris looked about and found that Nights and Pirdy were already awake and going about the business of cleaning up the camp. The female Nightmaren smiled as she noticed Claris awakening. "Good morning, snoozer. We thought you were never going to wake up." 

Nights chuckled as he put the stones back to where he had gotten them. "How are you feeling?" 

Claris stretched her back and twisted her head left and right. "Sore. I haven't slept on the ground in a long time." 

Pirdy laughed and nodded, "Neither have I. Darnit Nights, I'm a healer, not a bear." 

Claris just burst out laughing, pointing at Pirdy and laughing harder. The two Nightmaren just looked at one another and then back to the human, both of them with a curious look on their faces. Claris only shook her head and said, "Sorry, it's a human thing." 

Nights nodded his head as though that explained everything and said, "Come on weirdo, Soft Museum isn't far from here and we can make it by lunchtime." He knelt down and Claris climbed onto his back. Nights stood up, not even straining from the weight of his friend. With a crouch and then a leap, the Nightmaren took off into the forest. Pirdy looked and leapt up as well, following her friend once more. 

----- 

Kumori watched the Nightmaren and the dreamer take off and then took off herself, but in the opposite direction. Her flight took her deeper into the forest, towards it's heart. 

----- 

Umbrae was good, very good. Her skills made her the envy of the Night Terrors. She was not as good as Clawz, however, whose skills were not only learned over a lifetime of study and practice, but also from the gifts of Mother Nature herself. His running speed and stealth were an easy match for Umbrae's flight. He kept an eye on her as she sped left and right around the many traps of Stick Canyon, none of the magnets coming close to nabbing her. Down below, the traps didn't even recognize the Cat-maren as a threat, and so the Clawz used the shadows and the magnets as places to hide as his superior eyesight kept Umbrae in sight. 

----- 

Nights and Pirdy flew at a comfortable pace across the green sea that is Mystic Forest. They hovered low to keep any other Nightmaren from spotting them and Nights was constantly on the lookout to make sure that they weren't being followed or had been spotted. Pirdy was not struggling, but was enjoying the flight immensely. Every so often a bird would pop up out of the trees and fly along with them. Pirdy would giggle and fly loops around the bird only to have Nights bark at her to be careful and then she would have to duck back down again only to start all over. 

Claris, in the meantime, was lost deep in thought. Thoughts about everything that had happened to her recently, but mostly about Elliot. She wondered how he was coping with her being in a coma, what he was doing right now, but most of all she wanted to know what he was thinking. She enjoyed talking to him for hours, and sometimes they wouldn't talk at all, but would just stare at the sunset or watch people in the park. Suddenly she began to miss her love more and more, until a tear ran down her cheek and then flew away on the air. She snuggled in closer to Nights, trying to hide the tears that were flowing pretty freely. She had been far to emotional lately, and needed to get control of her emotions. She forced herself to stop and look up at the beautiful sky. It was a bright blue, with wispy clouds staining it in long streams. She closed her eyes and felt the breeze in her face and tried to force the image of Elliot out of her mind for right now. She needed to find out what was going on with her, why she had such incredible powers, and what she needed to do with them. 

"There it is! Soft Museum!", shouted Nights above the wind once more. "We'll land in that glade over there and make sure that everything is all right. Hold on, we're going down." Nights dived down towards the glade, the gentle slope preventing Claris from slipping forward and falling off, and allowing Pirdy to continue to keep up. "Careful Pirdy, the ground gives way a great deal here. It's almost like rubber." Nights brought his feet forward until he was standing up in the air and then the sound of padded feet on the fluid-like ground. Nights had to crouch down to keep from losing his balance as the ground seemed to ripple out about him. Pirdy didn't have as much luck. She landed and fell backwards onto the soft ground, Nights ripple catching her by accident. 

"Keep calm Pirdy and don't try to get up until the ground stops moving." Nights remained in the crouch position as Claris gently slid off of him and landed herself, causing smaller ripples to extend out about her. Soft Museum looked just like almost every other land in Dreamworld, except for the annoying fact that the ground was too soft for almost anyone to walk on. Too Claris, it was like trying to walk on a waterbed. The ground looked solid, but when one stepped, it sunk down slightly and caused ripples all around. Claris remembered that Elliot thought that Soft Museum only referred to the large building in the distance, but Nights was quick to correct him. Soft Museum referred to all of the land in the area. It had gotten it's unusual name because someone had once remarked that this area was a museum of soft ground. He had been mocked for saying such a silly thing, but the name had stuck and had evolved into Soft Museum over time. Claris took a gentle step and caused the ground to sink down a little, which in turn caused her to lose her balance a little. She wheeled her arms frantically to keep up and finally righted herself. "I hate this place.", was all she could say. 

"I don't get it, why don't we fly into the Museum?", asked Pirdy. 

"I don't know who's inside, so I don't want to barge in and scream to everyone that we're here. Let's play it safe for right now." With that, the three slowly started to make their way towards the large building. 

----- 

Umbrae continued to glide along the tree line and then the forest abruptly ended as a large cliff fell off and down into the distance. Umbrae spotted the museum off in the distance, the large Roman style building rose in the center of the soft ground that surrounded it. The large pillars held up an equally large roof the slanted down on two sides. The gray building was very stately and held some of the most ancient secrets in all of Dreamworld. It used to be cared for by the wisest of Nightopians. Used to be, before Wizeman's armies started to destroy everything once more. The Nightopian caretakers had all been slaughtered save for a handful that Wizeman had recognized as necessary for the maintenance of the Museum. For all of his blustering, Wizeman did recognize the need to maintain the history of Dreamworld. The Nightmaren dove towards the Museum from the opposite side of Nights and his party. She didn't even see them, the building blocking her view. She was more confident of herself than Nights was, however, and flew straight into the museum. She landed on the padded floor and looked about for the Nightopians that ran the place. "Come out, Nightopians, I have need of your knowledge." 

----- 

Clawz looked off of the cliff to the building down below, watching as Umbrae flew in through the open doors. What he saw that nobody else saw, however, was the Nightmaren in purple who was quickly approaching from the other direction. "Well," thought the Cat-maren, "This should prove to be very interesting. Very interesting, indeed." He gave a low chuckle and started to make his way down the cliff, his sharp claws keeping him from falling. It had been a long time since he had seen Nights in combat, and this fight was something he had to see. 

----- 

Nights, Pirdy, and Claris finally reached the more solid ground that the museum stood upon. They climbed the steps and entered the large hall, looking about for any of the Nightopians. They set foot on the padded floor that all of the museum had, looking around for anyone, but finding nobody. An eerie silence pervaded the large hall, as Nights looked down the large corridors and still saw nothing. 

"What's going on here, Nights. Where are the caretakers?" Pirdy's question broke the silence and echoed down the long hallways. Claris jumped a little as the Nightmaren broke the stillness. 

Nights shook his head, looking up and around at the entirety of the place. The inside of the museum was huge, extending several stories up and several hundred yards back. All of it was filled with books and scrolls, all of it the history of Dreamworld from it's creation to the current time. The amount of history this building contained was astonishing and required a massive effort in order to maintain. The building should have been crawling with the wise Nightopians known as the Archivists, but none of them could be seen. Pirdy started to say something once more, but Nights held up a hand and shook his head. "Quiet for now, Pirdy. Something is wrong here." He walked further into the museum, holding up his hand once more for Pirdy and Claris to stop. Nights' senses were at their peak, trying to sort out what his gut was telling him was wrong. And then..there it was. A small writhing in the shadows, a movement so obscure that most wouldn't have observed it. "Oh no," thought Nights, "we've been followed." He had been so careful, however, he had been so careful. 

Umbrae knew she had been discovered. Nights looked directly at her and his eyes seemed to pierce the very shadows where she lay in cover. She looked at him up and down, and was in awe. Nights was a superb figure to behold. Strength seemed to ooze from every part of him and Umbrae took a sharp breath. 

"I see you, creature of shadow." 

Umbrae narrowed her eyes dangerously and leapt out of her secluded spot with a furious scream. She reached to her sides and pulled out two daggers. "DIE, NIGHTS!" 

Nights was unprepared for what leapt out of the shadows at him. The lithe creature was coming at him fast and furious and he hesitated for a moment before leaping to the side. That moment of hesitation cost him as one of the daggers slashed into his arm. He gasped in pain and grimaced as he spun around to face his new adversary. Umbrae smiled as she realized that she had actually struck a blow. A new confidence surged into her as she charged forward once more, her daggers a blur of slashes in front of her. Nights was better prepared this time, however, and leapt up into the air over the daggers and sent out a powerful kick to the Nightmarens face. Umbrae took the full impact and fell backwards. Nights landed, shaking his head as he saw the younger Nightmaren lay there. Suddenly a twist and a turn, and the shadow Nightmaren was on her feet again, this time sending one of the daggers speeding towards Nights. The sound of the dagger splitting the air came to Nights before he actually saw it. He leaned to one side, the dagger missing him by half an inch and embedding itself in one of the bookshelves behind him. Nights jumped forward, twisting himself into a drill attack and catching Umbrae square in the chest and sending her sprawling further back. Nights landed and dashed forward, not allowing his opponent the opportunity to get up. He was impressed, however, when his opponent did get up quickly and dash forward at him as well. She threw the other dagger before her and Nights tilted his head to the right, only to meet the end of a fist as Umbrae came up behind the twirling weapon only a breath later and punch him. Nights was thrown off course for a moment, only to have a kick meet him in the ribs, and then a punch to his stomach, and finally another kick to his knees. He was on the floor, gasping to catch his breath from the flurry of attacks that had hit him. There was not time to acknowledge the pain, however, as Umbrae was on top of him again. Another dagger appeared in her hands and it was coming towards his head quickly. His arm shot up and stopped the momentum only a breath from his eye. He grimaced as he started to shove the dagger back from his face, her strength being no match for his own. Then with another quick shove, she was off of him and on the floor by his feet. Nights didn't waste a moment, he leapt on top of her and pinned the hand holding the dagger to the floor, his other fist punching her squarely in the mouth, and then squarely in the eye. His fist continued to fly until finally he felt no more struggling, and then he landed a few more, his rage taking over. 

"Nights! Stop it!" 

The sound came clearly into his head and immediately snapped him out of his rage. The pure sound of his friends voice echoed through the halls and Nights turned to see Claris standing there in fear and shock. He then looked down at Umbrae and saw what he had done and he stumbled back a few feet. Pirdy came over to the fallen Nightmaren and kneeled down, removing the black mask from her face. She was beautiful, Nights thought. A wealth of silver hair fell out of her floppies and down around her face. What should have been a young, angelic face, was now covered with bruises and a black eye. Nights looked down at his hands, covered with the blood of the Nightmaren he had just defeated, and then back to Claris. "I don't know what came over me. It was rage. Just pure hatred for her. I couldn't stop." 

Claris walked over and knelt down beside her friend, taking off her floppy and ripping it to bandage the dagger wound. "You were in that jail for such a long time, being tortured by Wizeman. All that anger you had inside you, you just took it out on her." Her words were quiet and soothing as she bandaged up the slashing wound. "Pirdy, how is she?" 

"Well, Nights really worked her over. She deserved it though. She's got some bumps and bruises, a busted lip and probably a broken rib. Nothing she won't heal up from." 

Nights winced as he heard the list of things that he did and said, "What do you mean she deserved it?" 

Pirdy looked at him and smiled, and then pulled up one of her sleeves to reveal a tattoo of a black wolf's head over a red star. Nights shook his head as he saw it and said, "I've never seen it before." 

Pirdy nodded her head and said, "I'm not surprised, there aren't many like it. It's the symbol of the Night Terrors, Wizeman's assassin team. This little lady has probably done more damage than an entire squad of regular foot troops." She laid the dark woman down and picked up the dagger she was using. She walked over to Nights as she said, "You probably did the Dreamworld a favor." 

Nights only shook his head as he looked down at the bandaged wound and then twisted his arm to test it. "Good bandaging." Claris smiled and said, "So now what. Did she kill all of the Nightopians here?" 

Nights shrugged his shoulders and stood, a grunt escaping his lips. "I don't know. I'll tell you something, though. If she did, there is no way we're going to find the information we need to help us. There are several rooms like this one, each filled to the brim with nothing but books and scrolls." 

Claris and Pirdy looked up in awe and twirled around, looking at the shelves and shelves filled with books. Nights looked at both of them and said, "This is nothing. There are several rooms filled with artifacts, statues, and who knows what else." 

"I do." piped up a voice from around one of the corners. "I know what else." 

----- 

Clawz had seen the entire thing. Nights was a little weaker than he remembered, but his form was still there. Clawz was also impressed with Umbrae. That little girl had actually managed to lay a hand on Nights, even wound him. He must report all of this back to Wizeman. He must tell his master that he found Nights. 


	7. Chapter Six: A History Unfolds

Body Chapter Six 

A History Unfolds 

Elliot sat in the hotel room, reading his book aloud. His hand was gently holding onto Claris', trembling slightly with both fear and exhaustion. The doctor had suggested that Elliot read the book to Claris. There had been documented cases where people had heard their loved ones reading and had woken up. 

The nurse came in and checked up on the both of them. Elliot had become a regular sight in the room. They were taking care of both him and their patient sometimes, and it had gotten to the point where the staff had let Elliot stay long beyond the end of visiting hours, hoping that the young man would wake up the girl. The doctor had told Elliot that she would call if Claris woke up, but that coma's tended to last a very long time. Elliot, however, had faith that Claris was in Dreamworld right now, and that Nights would be watching over her, and would bring her back to where she was supposed to be. Until then, Elliot would stay right here and read and wait. 

"Hey Elliot, what are you doing?" Geoff walked into the room, a bundle of flowers in his arms. Elliot smiled when his friend came in, closing his book. "The doctors told me to read to her. They said that it would help." Geoff nodded his head, walking over to the vase and removing the old flowers and putting the new ones in. "They're probably right, I've heard stranger things have brought people out of coma's." Geoff started to arrange the flowers in the vase as his eyes wandered over to Elliot. "And how are you doing?" 

Elliot rubbed his eyes and shrugged his shoulders, finishing a long yawn. "I'm alright, I guess. What are you doing here, though?" 

Geoff smiled and stepped back to look at his arrangement, nodding his head in approval. "Well, I guess I'm mostly here to see you. I have a friend who's a nurse here. I asked her to keep an eye out for you and she said that you had been spending long hours here. She's worried about you, and frankly, I am too." 

Elliot looked surprised. He wondered which nurse it was and then wondered why Geoff thought he might need looking after. "Well, like I said, I'm alright. I'll be great once Claris wakes up." 

Geoff walked over to a chair and sat down, leaning back. "Yeah, you look alright. You've got heavy bags under your eyes which means that you haven't slept, and I'm probably guessing right when I say that you haven't eaten in a while too." Elliot was about to say that he wasn't hungry when his stomach gave a long growl. Geoff chuckled and says, "Busted. Are you going to spend the rest of your life here, waiting for her to wake up?" 

Elliot simply nodded, "If I have to. I want to be here when she wakes up. I'll still go to practice, and to school. The rest of the time, I'll be here waiting." 

Geoff gave a sad smile and a sigh. "Elliot, I don't think that would be a really good idea." 

"Why not? I should be here when she wakes up. I love her. Don't you think that someone who loves her should be here all the time?" 

I know you love her, but look at you, Elliot? You aren't sleeping, you aren't eating, and your friends and family are worried sick about you. Do you honestly think that the doctors or Claris' mother won't call you the minute she wakes up?" 

Elliot's hand continued to shake as it clasped Claris' once more. He turned and looked at the beatific face, sleeping serenely on the pillow. "I know, I know. It's just.." He let out a long breath as his head lowered. 

Geoff stood up and walked over, placing a hand on Elliot's shoulder. "Besides, you and I both know that she is safe." 

"I just don't want her waking up and wonder where I am, wonder if I've stopped caring because I wasn't there when she woke up." 

The older man nodded his head, "Have you two ever had an argument before? I mean, a really good screaming match?" 

Elliot nodded again, giving a sort of laughing and sob mix. He remembered the time that he mistakenly told Claris that he would rather go to a basketball game with his friends than to one of her recitals. They had argued about that for over an hour, a screaming match that Ralph Kramden would have admired. In the end, he had gone to the recital. He smiled, wiping a tear off of his cheek. "Yeah, we've had a few." 

"And you always went back to her, or she came back to you, right?" Geoff smiled as he saw Elliot's smile grow wider. "Every single time we got back together. We were inseparable for a while, until Gerald. After that, her career started taking off and I hardly ever saw her. 

Geoff nodded his head, "You've taken care of that, though, haven't you?" 

"I hope so." 

Geoff squeezed Elliot's shoulder, "What I'm saying is that if she does wake up and you're not here, she's still going to love you. When you do show up, it'll be a great reunion. It's good that you visit, and I think you should keep it up. Visit for an hour, however, and get on with the rest of your life. Otherwise, when she wakes up, you're not going to have anything to talk about." 

Elliot laughed and nodded his head, looking at his friend. "Yeah, you're probably right. I am kind of tired, and I've been pretty lax at practice. Are you sure she's not going to hate me?" 

Geoff put his hand his heart and said, "I promise. Now come on, I'll buy you some dinner and get you home for the night. You need to get some rest." Elliot nodded once more and allowed himself to be led out. Geoff waved to the nurse's station, and the two nurses behind waved back, smiling warmly to Elliot. "In the meantime, you can tell me how you and Claris met, and maybe we can talk a little about Dreamland." 

As Elliot walked down the hall with Geoff, he started talking, and for a while his worries were forgotten. 

Nights stood and looked at the small Nightopian that fluttered around the corner on tiny gossamer wings. He laughed and said, "You've got to be kidding me. Aren't you a little young to be an Archivist?" 

The Nightopian gave a small snort and crossed its arms. "I may be young, but I am an Archivist." It fluttered over to Claris and looked at her with its bright eyes. "My name is Somei, and I'm the youngest here, but I'm still much older than most of you." The Nightopian was dressed the same as all the others that Claris had ever run across. His dark violet gown hung down to his feet. Around his neck was a high collar of a lighter shade of purple, almost pink. He had a pointed head that had a small halo around it, the same color as the collar. His eyes were a bright blue, and he had two rosy cheeks that seemed to blush a deeper shade of pink as Somei looked at Claris. The girl giggled, "I'm Claris, and that's Pirdy and Nights." 

Somei spun around in midair and flew over to Nights, blinking in surprise. "You're Nights? The same one that defeated Wizeman?" 

Nights continued to smile as he pointed down to Umbrae. "Apparently I didn't defeat him. If I had, she wouldn't be here. What was she doing here, anyway?" 

"She came here before and stole some books and scrolls from the older sections of the library. I guess she didn't find what she was looking for." 

"Books?" asked Pirdy, "What kind of books?" 

Somei shrugged in midair as he hovered lower over Umbrae to get a good look at her. "I don't know, we haven't taken a full inventory yet. We've been in the secret chamber since the attack. The Elders think that something big is on the horizon and they've been storing some of the oldest and most important books down there." 

Nights looked at Pirdy and pointed up to the dark shadow that Umbrae had appeared out of. "Head up there and see if she left anything behind." 

The healer nodded and flew off towards the dark corner. Claris looked at Umbrae, kneeling down next to her. "She's so young. How did she become so dangerous?" 

Nights shook his head, helping Claris to stand. "I don't know. I've never heard of these Night Terrors before. When I worked for Wizeman, he had Reala take care of all the dark and dirty work. Somei, can you take us to the Elders? I need to talk to one that has knowledge of Dreamers." 

Somei grew bright once again and hovered back up in front of Nights. "Sure, but I don't know if any of us can really tell you bout the dreamers. Still, couldn't hurt to ask, I guess." 

"Nights!" came a shout from above. "There's a backpack up here." Pirdy reappeared a moment later and flew down to the others, a black sack in her hands. She landed gently and handed the bag over. "It's heavy, there's something inside of it." 

It was definitely heavy, thought Nights. He opened it and dumped all of the contents out on the floor of the library. Amid the clatter of daggers came a deep thump and a hollow sound. Somei hovered over the contents. Nights looked at the Nightopian and said, "Well, it appears she had come back to steal. Any idea what they are?" 

"No, I'm afraid not. These books are very old, and are retained in a section that I had not been to yet. We'll ask the elders." Nights nodded his head and reached down, picking up the book and the scroll. "Careful putting the daggers away, Pirdy. Some of them might be poisoned." The healer's hand drew back quickly as though the daggers would strike out at her. She gingerly put the things back in the bag and sealed it up tight. She threw the bag off into the distance, and away from Umbrae. She then knelt down and took off Umbrae's hat, using it to tie her hands up tight with. Pirdy checked them one more time and then ran off after Nights and the others. As she caught up, she heard the middle of a conversation. 

"..hundreds of years old. I haven't seen this language since I lived in Nightmare Tower and even then only Wizeman could read it." He had the scroll open and was looking at the spidery script. 

"Can you read it?" 

Nights started rolling up the scroll, nodding his head towards the book that was now in Claris' hands. "No. I imagine that book could help you with that, however." 

"Then why did she come back here? She had the scroll and the translation book. She didn't need to return." 

"Who knows. It could have been something as simple as pure laziness. Whatever it was, she wasn't expecting to find us here, I'm sure." Nights and his crew continued to follow the young Nightopian through the corridors of Soft Museum. Claris was amazed by the vastness of the building. Shelves upon shelves of books, statues, and other artifacts were everywhere to be seen. The musty smell reminded Claris of the smell of libraries back in her own world. The amount of knowledge would have amazed anyone back home, and she knew quite a few people who would have given anything to be here right now. 

"Here we are." Claris snapped back awake as Somei fluttered straight for a bookshelf containing a series of books that were bound in black. He took one from the middle and revealed a button hidden behind it. Once he pushed it, a clinking noise could be heard, and then the bookshelf slid backwards and revealed a dark passage. Somei waved them through. 

Pirdy went first, happy to be in hiding and away from anymore of these Night Terrors that might be roaming about. Claris walked up next and peered into the darkness and didn't see anything. Suddenly a myriad of images ran through her mind. An image of all of her friends being able to fly and she simply falling through the darkness until she hit bottom. As she was about to take a step back, her head shaking slightly, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. Nights was right behind her, smiling his warm and friendly smile that had helped her so many times through darker times. She nodded, Nights wasn't going to let anything happen to her. She started down the steps, the Nightmaren close behind her. Somei closed the door behind them, leaving them trapped in complete darkness. 

The steps seemed to last forever, twisting and spiraling down further and further. Claris thought they had walked forever, the darkness pressing itself in on her. Just when she thought she wasn't going to be able to tolerate it anymore, her mouth ready to open in a scream, her eyes began to readjust to a light in the distance. After a few more minutes she could see Pirdy in front of her. After a few more minutes, she began to see the separate steps themselves. Finally she saw the bottom. As she looked behind her, past Nights and Somei, the stairs disappeared up into the darkness beyond. She dreaded having to walk back up. For now she was happy to have light once more. 

"We keep this place for the very old documents that we posses. They require a cool and dry place so they won't fall apart on us." The stone floor veered off to the right and down a long corridor. It was filled from floor to ceiling with small, round holes. Inside each hole was a scroll whose parchment had turned yellow from age. Claris and Pirdy were careful not to touch anything, this knowledge irreplaceable. Somei, however, didn't seem to mind at all, flying here and there in the corridor, sometimes only a hairs breath from wrecking into a scroll that was sticking out from a hole. 

Night looked up and down the stone corridor, admiring the simple beauty of the blue marble rock, and the green marble holes. He carefully took a scroll out and opened it, trying to read the contents. The contents were almost unlegible and unreadable. "Some of the Elders can't even read it anymore," whispered Somei as he hovered near Nights. "This scroll is an example of some of the earliest writings when Dreamworld was just coming into existence. We don't know what it means, but it is kept, as it should be." Nights nodded his head and replaced the scroll as carefully as he took it out. 

They continued down the corridor, walking for several minutes before they came out into a large, round chamber. In the center of the chamber lay a large, round table, a crystal-like rock sitting in the middle of it and giving off a white glow. To the left were shelves of books and scrolls, and to the right were glass cases containing ancient artifacts from a time long forgotten. In the room were at least a dozen Nightopians, dressed in robes of white with high red collars. They all looked towards the corridor, their eyes going wide. The three could hear their whispers of excitement. 

"It's him." 

"Are you sure?" 

"And the girl too." 

One by one the came forward, Nights suddenly finding himself shaking hands, answering questions, and laughing at their excitement. Claris smiled and watched for a moment more before turning and walking over to where the scrolls were. She reached out a hand to take one, only to stop and hesitate. A deep voice came from behind her, startling her a little. "Did you want to know what it says?" 

An older Nightopian was hovering next to her, his wings flapping furiously. He had a long, white beard that ran the entire length of his body, and ending with a slight curl at the end. A mustache covered his mouth and wiggled as he spoke once again. "You were going to take one in your hand, but you didn't know if you could." 

"They're so old, and I'm sure very valuable. I didn't want to take the chance of ruining them." Claris said quietly. "Where I come from, kids aren't allowed to touch old and valuable things." 

The old Nightopian chuckled and took the scroll out, handing it to Claris. "Here, child. It's been handled a lot more roughly than you think. This particular scroll is over 5000 years old and I doubt that you could ruin it." 

Claris took the scroll in her hands, but was afraid to do anything with it. She handed it back to the Nightopian who only nodded his head and chuckled once more. "You respect it, that is good." He placed it back in the hole and then turned and held out his hand. "My name is Orcim, and I am the Eldest Archivist. You are Claris, are you not?" 

Claris smiled and nodded, "Yes, I am. How did you know?" 

"Well, you are kind of famous around here, you know. One of the triad that stopped Wizeman in his quest to dominate the two worlds." 

Claris just blushed, her hand rubbing her neck a little as she laughed. "You know about that?" 

The Nightopian placed his hands inside the sleeves of his robe, "Yes, I do. All of us know about that. It's why I have no compunction about letting you touch any of the scrolls here." 

Claris looked down, continuing her smile and trying to make the blush go away. She brushed her hair back behind her ear as she spoke in a quiet voice. "Actually, sir, it's your help that I..I mean we, have come to ask for." 

"Oh? What is it that this old Nightopian can help you with?" 

"Something is happening to me. I've got powers that I don't understand and it's frightening me." She looked back up, her eyes pleading with the Nightopian. 

"No, child, this will not do." He landed on the floor and sat down. "Come, sit down and tell me what has happened. Perhaps, together, we may come up with an answer to your dilemma and I may see that lovely smile on your face once more." 

Claris sat down and started telling her story. How she had healed Nights with a mere touch, how she lit a fire with a mere thought, and how she was afraid that if she didn't learn how to control it, she might wreak terrible havoc. It all spilled out over the course of an hour, a weight lifted off of Claris' shoulders. Nights and Pirdy eventually came over and joined the conversation, sitting down to tell their parts of the story. Other Archivists began to join the group, nodding their heads as they listened to the two Nightmaren and the Dreamer tell of their adventure in escaping from Nightmare Tower and into the Mystic Forest. Eventually tea and biscuits were served, as the story lasted long into the night. 

Elliot and Geoff had talked for a long time about Dreamworld, and how Elliot and Claris had first met. The joy that was in his heart when he heard her singing, and when he saw her in the real world. Eventually the days spent with little or no sleep, and the large meal had caught up with him. Geoff drove him home and with a yawning wave to his parents, he headed up to his room. 

He didn't bother taking off his clothes, all he did was take off his shoes and fall in a heap onto his bed. Reassured by the words of his friend, he finally felt the burden of sleep that he had been fighting off for such a long time. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was fast asleep. 

Then it seemed his eyes wanted to open once more. This time, however, he didn't feel the tired ache of before, he felt refreshed and at ease. He opened his eyes to a scene of beauty and tranquility. Windmills floated on tiny islands that floated in a deep, blue sky. Their giant wheels turning in the cool breeze of the warm day. The green grass of the rolling hills extended off into the distance, stopping only for the high mountains that seemed to rise out of the horizon itself. He could hear the sound of a waterfall somewhere, and as he turned around he saw a herd of Shleep baying as they floated by. It was all here, and it was all familiar. Elliot was back in Spring Valley, he was back in Dreamworld. 

A huge smile spread across his face, and he fell back onto the grass with a loud, "YAHOO!" He laughed out loud for a while, happy that he had been allowed back. He stopped and was quiet, listening to the sounds of the windmill wheels creaking, the breeze tossing the trees and grass all about him. Then another sound intruded, one that was eerie and haunting, a ringing that seemed to be getting closer and closer. The Alarm Guardian was coming for him. "No rest for the wicked," thought Elliot as he stood up and looked about for the Ideya temple. Spying it in the distance, he leaped and started heading towards it, shouting out, "I'm back, Claris! And I'm coming for you!" 

Claris and Pirdy were asleep on some cots beside a warm stove that radiated some heat to keep the chamber warm. The Archivists had left the chamber, off to do their nightly duties before retiring for the evening themselves. Only Orcim and Nights remained in the chamber, sitting at the round table and drinking hot tea from tiny white cups. The two were speaking in quiet whispers so as not to wake the girls. 

"Well, it seems that you have a rather large problem on your hands, Nights. Claris does indeed have a great power that she is right to fear. Unfortunately it is not something that I can help you with." 

Nights sighed and nodded his head, taking a sip of the tea. "I was afraid you were going to say that. You guys know almost everything there is to know about Dreamworld. If you don't know off the top of your heads, then you know of a book that speaks about it." 

"We have books on the Great Dreamer, but none of them spoke about how he controlled his power, or that he even needed to. It was assumed that he always had the knowledge to control them." 

Nights nodded once more, turning to look at Claris. "What about Wizeman and a permanent way to stop him?" 

"The permanent defeat of Wizeman might be something I can help you with. The very fact that you sent him into hibernation for a time bespeak of a mortal that can be destroyed. I just don't know how." 

"I can't fight another war against him, Orcim. I don't have the strength." He turned his face away from the fire in the stove, immersing it in shadow so that only his purple eyes remained. "It took too much out of me last time. Umbrae was nothing compared to Reala, and yet I barely beat her." 

Orcim nodded, facing the fire and taking a deep breath. "Your power will return as you travel, Nights. Rest assured of that. In the meantime, while I might not be able to help you myself, I can help you in your quest to find out." Orcim fluttered up and over to the case of scrolls and searched through them one by one until he found the one he was looking for. He took it out and fluttered back to the table. Nights cleared the cups out of the way while the Nightopian rolled open the parchment. He coughed a little as the parchment whipped up some dust. 

Orcim continued to whisper as he spoke. "I remember an old legend about ancient spirits that used to rule the land before the coming of Wizeman. Let's see..ah, here it is. 'We who rule this land, who have made it with our own hands for the benefit of those that have been created by Him, have grown weary with our endeavor. In order for us to regain our strength, we must sleep. A palace we have built in the green arms of this place. Here we will remain until such time as we have regained our strength. We leave this world in the hands of those created by Him.'" 

The Nightmaren shook his head, looking at the block-like script on the scroll. "So you mean that there are beings more powerful than Wizeman right here in Dreamland? 'Green arms of this place'? Half of this world is green. The hills of Spring Valley and Splash Garden, the trees of Mystic Forest, I mean heck, they could be anywhere, even right outside here. The hills of Soft Museum are green too." 

Orcim shook his head, rolling up the scroll. "It would have to be heavily protected. They wouldn't want just anyone coming and bothering them. They were tired, very tired, so they would have placed a number of traps and laid their chambers somewhere easily defended. Spring Valley, Soft Museum, and Splash Garden are wide rolling hills." 

"Mystic Forest." 

"Indeed. I have a whole section of books detailing travelers who have entered Mystic Forest and who have become lost for weeks, coming out and telling tales of terror. You even know it yourself, Nights. Nobody has gone into the center of Mystic Forest and come out alive. You can't fly there, for the forest birds rise up and attack you. Something is in the center of that forest and nature itself is set to protect it." 

Nights looked at Pirdy and Claris once more, leaning back in his chair. "The center of Mystic Forest. They won't stand a chance. Heck, I barely stand a chance." 

"They have to go with you Nights. They might be able to help you with Claris' problem at the same time." 

Nights shook his head, "Absolutely not. Claris perhaps, her power could probably protect us. Pirdy, however, is not." 

"I agree with you, but you may need her healing powers. She is eager to set things right, things that she feels she may have done wrong by working for Wizeman. Come Nights, you yourself felt the same way, once." 

The Nightmaren remembered. It was the reason he had saved Claris and Elliot from their nightmares a long time ago. He felt bad about what Wizeman was planning to do. It was only afterward that he realized he could use their red Ideya to help him. He looked at Orcim one more time and finally nodded. "Yes, you are right of course." 

Orcim fluttered to the scroll case and replaced the ancient manuscript and then flew to another part of the chamber. "This isn't a mission where simply acrobatics will do anymore, my friend. You need something to help you." He fluttered from case to case and then opened one, removing a long sword. "This is the sword of Gabriel. You will need it now, I think." 

Nights took the sword in hand and looked at it. It shined brightly in the light emitted from the crystal, but as Nights looked at the metal closer, he thought he saw the hint of a red flame writhing inside of it. "This isn't an ordinary sword, is it?" 

Orcim laughed and shook his head. "No, my friend, it is not. When you are ready, the sword will do many wonderful things for you. Until then, use it to defend yourself and your friends." 

Nights sheathed the sword in a leather scabbard that Orcim provided. "We'll sleep and get an early start tomorrow." He walked over to where the girls were, running a hand through Claris' hair. "I know you mean well," thought Nights, "but where we're going, I need more than that." 

Elliot looked out of the Ideya temple, the wind bristling through his hair as he looked out at the night sky. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Where are you, Claris? Where would I go if I was stuck in a coma and needed to get out." He looked up into the sky once more and saw a human shape darting against the starry backdrop. Elliot smiled, "What luck!", he once more thought to himself. "There's Nights now!" He ran out from the temple and waved his hands, shouting up to the Nightmaren. "NIGHTS! I'm down here! It's me! Elliot!" 

The figure changed direction and started heading towards Elliot. The boy smiled and said, "Alright! He'll know where Claris is." As the figure came closer, however, Elliot's smile became a frown, and then a look of fear. The figure was dressed all in black, with glaring blue eyes, and a very shiny dagger in it's hands. 

To be Continued... 

  



	8. Chapter Seven: Into the Eyes of an Emera...

Body

Chapter 7: 

Into the Eyes of an Emerald Storm 

Umbrae laid there in a crumpled heap, bound hand and foot with knots that her hands could not recognize. She had been tied up all night and she could feel her muscles cramping and twisting into knots of their own. Her eyes were done crying now, there was no more self-pity left within her. She had come to the realization that she had been beaten last night. Nights had been perfection in his performance, and he wasn't even at his peak. The rest of the morning had been spent imagining what kind of warrior he must be when he reached the peak of his prowess, and how that prowess could ever be beaten. She opened her eyes when she heard the voices approaching and looked to find their source. There they were, the entire group. The dreamer, the healer, the warrior, and the scholar, all of them together and speaking in low tones. 

"When you arrive in Mystic Forest, you must remember that not all the signs lead towards the center, most of them point to a different path that will get you only further lost. This book will help you, although it is rather old and might be out of date." The old Nightopian produced a light brown leather book and handed it to Nights, "It's words may still be useful, however, and so you should study it before making the dangerous trek." 

"I will. Thank you, honored one, for your hospitality and your wisdom." 

"It is I who should thank you, Nights, for returning a valuable scroll and book to our fold." Then both of their eyes turned towards the tied up Nightmaren on the floor, still struggling against her bonds. "What will you do with this one?" 

"I don't know yet." Then they both walked past, followed by the dreamer Claris, and the healer Pirdy. They stopped at the door and Nights turned his large eyes back to Umbrae and said, "Everyone, why don't I meet you outside. I want a moment alone with this Night Terror." 

Here it comes, thought Umbrae, here he comes to kill me. I deserve it, I have fallen in battle. There is nothing that can save me now. The Night Terror looked up once more and saw Nights walking towards her with a firm step, the sword in his hand gleaming in the candlelight as though it were on fire. He kneeled down and removed the gag from over her mouth and said, "Reala chose his Nightmaren well. You have a real fire in you." 

Umbrae snorted and shook her head, laying it back on the ground. "Obviously it wasn't bright enough if I couldn't defeat you in a weakened state." 

Nights only chuckled and raised the sword. Umbrae closed her eyes tight and waited for the sharp pain. The sword whistled and a moment later the tightness around her wrists was released, and her aching muscles screamed as her arms moved for the first time in many hours. Her eyes opened slowly and she could feel the same release from around her ankles. "Get up, Night Terror, and let's go." 

"What do you mean, let's go? You don't actually think that I'm going to travel with you and help you to defeat my master." 

"That's exactly what you're going to do." Nights bent down and started rubbing Umbrae's ankles, trying to get the circulation flowing back through them so she could stand. "Do you know why you're going to do it?" 

"I'm not going to do it, so it's a stupid question to even ask." 

Nights only smiled and continued rubbing, "Alright, if you don't want to hear why, it's not something I have to tell you. You're going to go though." 

Umbrae would never admit it, but she liked having the Nightmaren rub her ankles, and the pins and needles that were running through her feet didn't seem to bother her as much. If she didn't have the mask over her mouth, Nights might have noticed the blush creeping across her face. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to continue looking strong and said, "Alright, Nights, why am I going to go with you? What in Dreamland could you possibly say that would make me betray those that I have fought with." 

Nights nodded his head, his large eyes twinkling. "You're intrigued. You want to know why I turned against Wizeman and all the power that was given to me. You want to know more about the dreamer, and you want to know why the healer decided to abandon all that she's known and would willingly lay down their lives in a hopeless struggle against superior forces. And finally, you want to know more about me." 

Well, he had hit the nail right on the head. There were more questions, but the ones that Nights mentioned were the ones that troubled her most. Why had Pirdy left the Nightmaren, and who was this dreamer that Nights seemed to protect like a mother to her cub. "Those are questions that anyone would ask. It doesn't mean I want to jump up and fight by your side," she said. 

"Why do you owe Reala and Wizeman so much?" 

"I fight for them, I am a soldier in their army." 

"You're a servant for their own whims. Wizeman and Reala hate one another, and you're nothing more than a pawn in their political game." 

"That's not true," Umbrae hollered, "I am a Night Terror. An assassin and thief without remorse. I have destroyed villages and towns because they did nothing more than annoy my master with their lack of subservience." 

"Oh, and you're proud of that." smirked Nights. 

"Well, no, not all of it. It's still better than living on the run, dodging every patrol and Nightmaren you come across for fear that you'll be killed. Never sleeping, always watching. What kind of life is that." 

"It's a life of freedom, a life of doing what's right for this world. It's a life fighting against the tyranny and oppression that your master and Wizeman enjoy spreading. If Wizeman is successful in bringing the waking world into this one, then he will end up destroying both. You're fighting for your own death, and that doesn't sound like something you would do." 

Umbrae sighed and shook her head. She sat up and looked around the Museum and shook her head once more. "You don't understand. This is what I grew up doing, I know nothing else." 

"I do understand. I grew up the same way, knowing nothing else but destruction. I worked for Wizeman once too." Nights knelt down and said, "Come with us Umbrae. Fight with me, I need your help. Pirdy and Claris are not warriors, and I'll have enough trouble finding our way through Mystic Forest, let alone trying to protect them from the dangers that lay inside. Come with me and fight by my side. I promise you that you'll get into at least one battle every few days." 

Umbrae let out a quick laugh before she bit down on her lip to stop it. He has an infectious way about him, she thought, enough that you believe in what he's doing as much as he does. She looked down at the floor and took a deep breath. She would be leaving the one thing she knew and be entering a world she knew nothing about. That frightened her more than any opponent she had faced before, but she didn't know why. She had never had a friend before, she had always been afraid that one would backstab her. Nights, however, was offering her something different. He was offering her comraderie on a level that she had never realized before, and that was frightening as well. This was a true warrior, turning his honored enemy into a friend and ally. 

"Come on, Umbrae, it will be a great adventure, and you might even make a friend or two." Nights stood up and offered his hand to help her stand. She grasped it and hesitated a moment more before she stood up as well. 

"Alright, Nights, I will travel and fight with you. Make no mistake, however, I do not do this out of any kind of friendship. I do this only to appease my curiosity and because you promised me the chance to fight." 

"Fair enough." Nights extended his hand once more, looking Umbrae squarely in the eyes. She hesitated for a moment under that gaze, knowing that if she returned the gesture, she would forfeit her life and lose the respect of this warrior if she betrayed him. She extended her hand and shook Nights' firmly, nodding her head. "Fair enough." 

Elliot had finally reached the Dreamworld. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, keeping it in as he listened to the familiar sounds of the windmills creaking on their floating islands, and the water tripping over waterfalls in the distance. "I thought I would never see this place again. Part of me was hoping that I wouldn't, but the rest of me is happy that I have." He took another deep breath and let it out slowly as he started walking across the green hills. Then his ear caught it, the annoying and persistent ringing. He rubbed a finger in his ear and listened again, hoping that it wasn't in his head. The ringing was only gone for only a moment before he heard it once more. It was distant, but slowly getting louder and he looked about in hopes of seeing what it was. He started walking again, a thought creeping into his head that the ringing was familiar to him. The thought distracted him for a moment as he tried to pin it down, and his feet started walking faster as the ringing got closer. 

"What was it? What do I remember that rang when I was here last time? It wasn't a Shleep, or any kind of creature. I know that. What was it?" 

He looked about once more and his eyes finally fixed on a shadowy object in the distance beaming a light onto the ground and heading straight for him. Those eyes went wide as he recognized it, and he started to run as fast as he could. It was the Alarm Guardian, and it was heading straight for him. If it touched Elliot, he would wake up and this trip to Dreamland would be over. 

Reala paced through the Nightmare Tower with a quick step, his hands behind his back and his eyes on the floor. Umbrae had not yet returned, Nights had escaped and the other Night Terrors were nowhere to be seen anymore. Had Wizeman discovered his game already? No, Reala was too clever and the plans too well laid for the Lord of Nightmares to discover it already. He stopped his pacing and walked out to his balcony, overlooking the encampment below. There were troops returning from their day of conquest and victory, bearing prisoners and the spoils of war. His trusted generals would be sure to bring him all of the most important spoils, which Reala would keep for himself. Everything else would go to Wizeman and he would continue to believe that the Nightopians were nothing more than mere idiots. 

He stepped onto the ledge of his balcony and prepared to hover to the camp below, when his eye caught a shadow moving in the night. It was darker than the rest and it was moving too quickly to be a Nightmaren or any of his soldiers. He watched it closely as it headed straight for Nightmare Tower and easily dodged through the patrols and guards. It didn't fly, however, and that was what made Reala realize that it was Clawz, returning from doing Wizeman's bidding. The fact that Umbrae had not returned and another of his other Night Terror's were missing, and now Clawz was returning from the direction of Soft Museum was too much of a coincidence. Reala's eyes narrowed dangerously. Wizeman had suspected that he was up to something, and had sent the cat to go out and destroy as many of Reala's precious Night Terrors as he could. That was the only explanation for it. His hand clenched into a fist and started to shake in fury, the claws biting into his palm and causing him to bleed. "You will pay, Clawz, for what you have done." 

Wizeman saw his faithful servant returning as well, and could feel an anger from Reala immediately start to swell up as the creature ran towards the Tower. All the Lord of Nightmares could think was, "This ought to be interesting," and he walked back into his apartment. 

Clawz dashed left and right past the unsuspecting guards, creating nothing more than a stir of wind at his passing. His eyes looked up towards Wizeman's quarters and saw the orange firelight burning, meaning that his master was still awake and waiting on him to report. He dashed through the Tower entrance, easily bound up the stairs, his claws scratching lightly on the door to his master's room only a moment later. 

The door swung open of it's own volition and Clawz walked inside, his claws clacking against the stone floor. He trotted over to Wizeman and bowed his head. 

"Report to me, most faithful," came the booming voice of Wizeman. 

"Master, one of the Night Terrors went to Soft Musuem to seek information. She was routed and destroyed by Nights in a fight. Nights, however, was damaged and almost killed. He is not at the peak of his proficiency yet and may prove vulnerable under a more skilled assault. The information that the Night Terror sought is now in the hands of the Nightopian Archivists at Soft Musuem, and I am still unable to discern where they are hiding themselves." 

Wizeman nodded, walking once more to his balcony and looking out at the moon high above. "Clawz, rest tonight and then tomorrow I want you to seek out the Demi-Maren Jackal." 

"Jackal, master? You will use Jackal to attack Nights?" 

"Yes, he is sufficient enough to defeat Nights in this kind of weakened state. Yes, he will do just fine." 

"Master, I was hoping that I might have the privilege of destroying Nights myself." 

"Don't be ridiculous, Clawz, you are too important to me to risk in a confrontation with Nights. Let's use the Demi-Maren mercenary first and see if Nights' skills are really that out of shape. Then we will make a further determination." 

Clawz bowed his head once again, proud at the fact that Wizeman didn't want to risk losing him, and proud that his Master found him too important. "Of course, Master. You are most wise." 

Wizeman nodded his head, reaffirming his plan to himself. "Go and rest, most faithful, you have performed well. Inform me when you leave to retrieve Jackal for me." Clawz turned and trotted out of the room, leaving Wizeman alone once more. "Reala, Reala, Reala, what am I going to do with you son." He looked down and saw the Nightmaren floating down towards the camp, no doubt to take the prize share of the spoils that his warriors had gained. Mere baubles, thought the wizard. They are nothing, Reala, but you do not see beyond their glitter and that is why you will never be Lord of Nightmares. You do not see that my destiny is far greater than any mere title. Nor do you see that our future is now clouded once more, by Nights. 

Elliot continued to run as fast as he could, trying to dodge the spotlight of the Alarm Guardian. He had managed to outdistance it, but he was getting tired and he knew that the guardian would never stop its pursuit as long as Elliot continued to be in the Dreamworld. He needed a place to hide for a while and catch his breath. He looked around for the Ideya temple, but couldn't see it anywhere, which was funny because the last time he was here, he seemed to have a natural instinct for finding them. 

Elliot spied a small cove of trees in the distance, rising up out of the landscape around a pool of clear blue water. He hoped it would be enough to hide him in, until he could figure out another plan, or until he was rested enough to make another run for it. The ringing became louder once again and Elliot made a run for it, taking in a deep breath as he made for the trees. The Alarm Guardian spotted him right away and turned course, the spotlight moving forward and trying to stun him. Elliot dodged and weaved as best he could, using all of his athletic skill. The spotlight was quick, darting and trying to get it's light on top of him. Trees zoomed left and right as Elliot continued his dash. He ducked behind a bush, but the spotlight had shined on his foot, and already he could feel it numbing up. He tried to continue to run, but his foot wouldn't hold him up anymore. He fell hard to the ground, stunned for a moment. It was all the hesitation that the Alarm Guardian needed. A moment later the light was squarely on the boy, and Elliot could already hear the soothing words. "Time to wake up, little dreamer. Time to wake up." 

A moment later he awoke in his room with a start, sweat beading down his forehead, and his breath coming in ragged grasps. He looked about, hoping that this were not true, that he wasn't really awake yet. Tears started to run down his face, and his hands clenched into fists. "No..", was all he could murmur. His hand found a baseball and he grasped it, flinging it across the room with enough force to shatter the basketball trophy on his shelf. He sniffed and then hugged his knees, continuing to cry. "So close Claris. So close." 

Claris huddled onto the back of Nights as they all flew back towards the Mystic Forest. She turned her eyes towards Umbrae, studying the female Nightmaren dressed all in black. She was a powerful figure, to be sure, but Claris saw that she had changed since her conversation with Nights. She saw a curiosity in those eyes now, and those eyes were now looking straight back at her. They blinked once, and then narrowed dangerously and went back to looking forward. 

"Don't stare at her," said Nights above the holler of the wind around their ears. "She'll take it as a sign of hostility." 

"What did you say to her to get her to come along?" 

"I promised her a thing or two, and she joined right up. Come on Claris, give her a break. Remember that all the other Nightmaren that you're traveling with were once all on the bad side as well." 

"I think that's different, Nights," she hollered back. "I mean, I never knew you when you were evil, and I don't think Pirdy has an ounce of evil inside of that huge heart of hers. Umbrae, though, she just gives off evil vibes." 

Nights laughed and shook his head, "That's because she doesn't know anything else. Give her time, Claris, being a hero is new to her. She'll get used to it." 

The peaks of the tall trees in Mystic Forest started to appear on the horizon, and Claris lowered her head once again, "Should we be worried about Nightmaren patrols? We aren't exactly entering friendly territory, you know." 

Nights shook his head once more, pointing to the east as he did so. "See that black smoke over there?" 

Claris followed his finger and her saw a large column of black smoke rising into the air in the distance. A small tongue of orange flame leapt up every moment or so and Claris nodded her head. "It looks like something's on fire." 

"Something is. The Nightmaren armies are attacking a small city called Idia. They're probably hoping to get the large food supplies stored there." 

"We have to go help, Nights. Those poor Nightopian don't stand a chance. We can help defend." 

Another shake of his head, "We can't, we have more important things to do right now. We'd be wasting our time, unfortunately. By the size of the fire, it looks like the Nightmaren are already well on their way to winning. We'd be risking our lives for very little gain." 

"Very little gain! Nights, it's a city of Nightopians. They're being slaughtered." 

"And if we don't stop Wizeman, more will be. We need to cut the head off, and the rest will fall afterwards. We are only three Nightmaren, and one is a healer at that. We don't stand a chance." 

"Nights.." 

"Enough!" hollered Umbrae, flying near Nights and Claris. "Nights has already given you more than ample explanation for not going. His strategy and advice are sound, and wailing to him that we should go and die nobly is stupid and pointless. We are nearing Mystic Forest and to enter the center, we need strength and clear thought, and we will achieve neither with you whining." She flew off before Claris could respond. Her mouth hung wide open in shock and disbelief as her eyes followed the Nightmaren flying off. She had never been reprimanded like that before, and it was something she didn't think she liked very much. Nights didn't say a word, he just tried to hide his smile and continued to fly. Pirdy just blinked, not knowing what was going on, but just happy that she wasn't at Idia right now. 

Nights and his group landed on the outskirts of Mystic Forest, looking up at the tall trees that rose before them like a huddled group of giants. Claris swallowed hard and a moment later, Pirdy was right next to her, trying to hide herself behind the taller girl. Umbrae stood next to Nights, her eyes trying to search through the intense shadows. "Nightmaren patrols have been trying to claim Mystic Forest since this all began. All of the patrols that have gone in have never come back out. Wizeman and Reala were furious, they needed the wood of the trees for some reason, and they weren't getting it." 

Claris looked at Umbrae and then back to the trees, "Were they trying to get to the center, like we are?" 

"No, they were only here to chop down some trees and get the wood back to the Tower. Not a single log of wood made it back though." 

Nights nodded once and then looked towards where the column of smoke was continuing to rise into the air. "We'll camp inside for tonight and start for the center tomorrow. I want to read this book, find out what we're going up against." 

The group entered into the trees and Nights once more made sure to get plenty of rocks to form a circle to contain a fire. "Be sure only to get wood from the ground. If there are spirits in the forest, let's not anger them by destroying the trees." The others nodded and set out to find some wood. 

"Nights," came a tiny voice, "are you sure that we're safe in here? Unfriendly spirits and everything, they don't like intruders." 

The Nightmaren turned and saw a frightened Pirdy looking up into the trees, her arms wrapped around herself tightly. "Don't worry, they won't bother us unless we start doing something drastic that they don't like." Within moments, Claris and Umbrae returned with armloads of wood that they placed near the rocks. Another moment later and Nights had a cheerful fire brewing. They all sat close, and for the remainder of the evening, Nights talked about the book, and what they could expect inside. 

Elliot walked through the park, his eyes cast down at the ground even as the sun shined down and tried to cheer him up. "I must be out of shape or something, the Alarm Guardian never caught me before. I couldn't even find an Ideya Temple. I always knew where it was before. It was like an arrow was right in front of my face all the time." He took in a deep breath through his nose and let it out through his mouth, raising his head and looking at the crystal blue lake beside him. Elliot tried to clear his thoughts but they refused to be dusted away. "I need to talk with someone who understands." His feet turned and he started heading towards the hospital. 

Reala twisted his hand and stared at the gold goblet he held. An evil grin formed across his hideous face as he saw his reflection in the pure gold. "Perfect," he said aloud, "a beautiful piece of metalworking. When I am Lord of Nightmares, I shall have many more like this one in my collection. Poor Wizeman, so lost in your delusions of grandeur that you've missed the smaller picture all around you. You want the waking world, and you want the Dreamworld together, but it doesn't work out that way, Father. To stubbornly try and bring the two together is a foolish endeavor indeed." 

"Is it?" came the voice from behind. "I thought it was a goal that you and I shared together." 

Reala's eyes narrowed and he turned, finally resting on the giant form of Wizeman hovering in the doorway. "It was never what I wanted, it's always been what you wanted, Father." Reala set the goblet on the table and walked out to the balcony, pointing up to the moon. "See that up there, Father, see that precious moon hanging over us? You control it, you control this entire place, and even now my armies rage across the land, snatching back all that is ours, and yet it's still not enough for you. Your greed is going to be your downfall, and I'm going to be there when it happens. And when you're on your knees, weighed down by your own greed, I will be there to take all that is yours, and make it mine." 

Wizeman lifted a single of his seven hands and an unseen force suddenly seized Reala. He struggled to try and break free of the bonds, but it was no use, he was captured. Wizeman floated over and lifted his hand to bring Reala's face square with his own. "You listen to me, my son, you are not powerful enough to seize my throne yet. Do you think you are so indispensable to me as to assert yourself in my very presence? You have no comprehension what it means to be Lord of Nightmares." Wizeman started to close his hand slowly, the force surrounding Reala starting to crush the Nightmaren. "This is but a small taste of my power, my son, and yet you cannot escape from even this. Did you really believe that I would not discover your little scheme?" He continued to close his hand, crushing the Nightmaren even further. "You are pathetic, my son, I wish it had been you that had turned to the side of good instead of Nights. Then I know the future would not be hazy." 

Reala screamed in pain, unable to open his eyes. Wizeman opened his hand and in an instant, the force surrounding Reala was gone and he fell to the floor exhausted. Wizeman said nothing further, only turned and floated out the door. Reala watched him go, coughing up blood onto the floor. His eyes narrowed, and the evil and hatred in his heart grew even further. "First, dear father, I eliminate your eyes, and when you are blind and cannot see the world about you, then we shall see how powerful you are." 

Elliot walked by the ambulance bays at the hospital, looking around for his friend. He spotted a couple of other paramedics and asked them about Geoff. "Yeah," said one of them, "he usually hangs out under the trees when he's eating his lunch." They pointed him to a small picnic area, and Elliot thanked them and walked over that way. As he walked around a wall, he spied Geoff eating lunch and reading a book at a picnic table under the shade of some trees. 

"Hi, Geoff, mind if I join?" Elliot asked. 

Geoff looked up from his book and smiled, "Not at all, please, have a seat. I was getting full anyway and wondering what I was going to do with the other half of this sandwich. You want it?" 

"What kind?" 

"Ham and Swiss cheese with Dijon mustard on French bread." He took it out of his bag and handed it over. Elliot didn't realize just how hungry he was as he started to bite into it ravenously. Geoff only smiled once again, watching him. "What's going on Elliot? Bad dream?" 

"No dream is the problem. I got to the Dreamworld again, last night, and wasn't there for more than ten minutes when the Alarm Guardian got me." 

"The Alarm Guardian causing you trouble, huh? Why didn't you just go to an Ideya Temple? You can usually find one about." 

"That's just it," said Elliot as he swallowed some of the sandwich. "I tried, but I couldn't sense where they were. It was like all my abilities didn't exist anymore." 

Geoff nodded his head, taking out a soda from his bag and handing it over to Elliot. "I see. That is a problem. You're not going to be able to see Claris as long as the Alarm Guardian is hovering on your tail all the time. You want some advice?" 

Elliot nodded emphatically as he opened the can of soda. "You bet. Anyway I can beat the guardian and stay for as long as I need to?" 

Geoff shook his head, "Unfortunately no, the Guardian cannot be stopped. You can, however, slow it down enough so that you can get so far ahead of it that it wouldn't be able to catch you for a long time." 

"How do I do that? I just need enough time to find Claris and see why she isn't waking up." 

Geoff nodded his head this time, turning around the bag of chips he had to face Elliot. The boy didn't realize that his friend was giving up his entire lunch, his interest was peaked on the idea of stopping the Alarm Guardian. He continued eating as Geoff explained. "The Alarm Guardian wakes up dreamers from their sleep, that's its job. If it doesn't, then Dreamworld becomes crowded and dreamers start bumping into one another and wreaking havoc. It gets confused by rapid movement, however, so if you lead it to a river or a fast flowing stream of water, the spotlight can't get a fix on you because of all the other movement in the area. That is how you make your initial escape." 

"Initial escape? How long will that slow him down?" 

"About twenty minutes or so. After that, there will be more dreamers in the area besides you. It'll stop looking in the water, back out, and then pick up the closest dreamer and head towards it. If you're far enough ahead, you should be fine. Try to lead the Alarm Guardian to water near an Ideya Temple. Get that spotlight to flash on the water, run into the Temple and wait. The Guardian should eventually leave." 

"How do you know all of this?" 

"I wanted to spend a little more time in the Dream World once, so I spent a lot of time studying the Alarm Guardian. I tried everything I could to get away from it, and finally I crossed a river and the spotlight fell on the water. It stopped, almost as though the water confused it. I used that opportunity to escape from it. It gave me some more time to explore." 

"Do you think it will still work? I mean, you said that you hadn't been to the Dream World in a long time. Have the Alarm Guardians gotten smarter since then?" Elliot took another bite of the sandwich, his hands seeking out some chips. 

"I don't know, it is possible that they've gotten smarter. I think you should try it out, it couldn't hurt. Now, eat your sandwich, you need your strength." 

Elliot ate some of the chips in his hand, and before he knew it, he had eaten all of Geoff's lunch. His friend didn't seem to mind so much, however, and they spent the afternoon talking about many things. 

  


Claris slept soundly. Nights and Umbrae still awake and watching the trees of Mystic Forest sway back and forth in the wind. The silence of the night was ushered away by the sounds of the forest, and the swishing of the pine needles in the trees. Every so often a figure would fly above them, carrying something in its arms. Nights sighed and shook his head sadly, continuing to watch the sky. "Idia has fallen." 

Umbrae looked at Nights, curiosity in her eyes now. "As if you had any doubt. The Nightopians didn't stand a chance against the Nightmaren army." 

Nights shrugged his shoulders, taking another deep breath. "I know, it's just sometimes you have to say it out loud to make it real in your mind. Idia was a beautiful city and its loss is a great one." 

Umbrae looked back up into the sky to see another group of Nightmaren flying overhead. "I know, I've seen it before. This was a part of the job that I didn't like. Sometimes the Nightopians can create things of such beauty and we know nothing but destruction. When I attacked a small village in the Arctic Bell, I was sad when Reala ordered me to destroy it. The ice sculptures were some of the most beautiful that I've ever seen." 

Nights took his eyes off the sky this time and looked at Umbrae, amazement filling his purple eyes. "The Night Terror has a heart?" 

Umbrae looked a little shocked and turned her eyes back to Nights, only to find his staring directly back at her. She swallowed hard, unable to speak for a moment. Her heart gave a little lurch and then her eyes narrowed dangerously once more as she turned back towards the fire, "Just because I'm an assassin and a thief doesn't mean I don't appreciate beauty. I'm a soldier, not a monster. I was hoping that you of all people would understand that." She sat on a log with her back facing Nights, watching the fire crackle in front of her. She brushed a tear away forcefully with her sleeve, hoping the other Nightmaren didn't notice. "I'm going to get some sleep. Wake me in four hours and I'll stand watch." 

Nights had never taken his eyes off of Umbrae, and his expression was filled with remorse. He had hurt her, and this told him that young Umbrae had more heart than he had believed at first. "Alright, Umbrae. Sleep well." 

Silent eyes watched the campers from the branches of a nearby tree. They stared intensely at the two that were still awake, taking in their conversation and watching as the one in all black laid down to rest. The emerald green orbs turned towards the other sleepers, watching them for a moment. They were peaceful in their sleep, comfortable and safe in the care of the other two. The eyes didn't know what to make of this group. They weren't like the others, afraid of the forest and the spirits resting inside. 

The eyes moved once more to settle themselves on the lone Nightmaren that was awake. They went wide for a moment as they noticed that the Nightmaren seemed to be staring straight back. His eyes were unwavering as well as unnerving. The eyes continued to stare right back at the Nightmaren in purple and white, and they were amazed that the purple Nightmaren didn't back down or make a threat. They simply acknowledged that she was there, and that he would not be leaving anytime soon, and that he was unafraid of what lay ahead. 

The emerald eyes closed and a moment later, all that was left was shadow and a sense of wonder. 

Elliot rested in his bed, his eyes slowly closing and his mind drifting off to sleep. His last waking thought was a wish to end up in Dreamworld. 

His wish came true. 

Elliot's eyes opened to gaze once more upon the beauty of Spring Valley. This time, however, he didn't take in the deep breaths, nor did he listen to the sounds of the windmills. This time he hoped up on his feet and looked about for the nearest stream or river flowing by. Already his ears were picking up the sounds of the Alarm Guardian in the distance. He saw a crevice to his right and immediately started for it, hoping that the river had formed it. He looked behind him and saw the Alarm Guardian already coming over the next hill, the spotlight looking swiveling left and right in search of the dreamer that it had sensed. Elliot looked forward once more and saw the crevice looming closer and when he reached the edge, he looked down about four feet and saw water flowing swiftly by. He could not, however, sense an Ideya temple anywhere and that troubled him once again. He looked all around for the high hilltop that normally held the temple. It wasn't anywhere in sight and Elliot realized that he was going to have to run as fast and as hard as he could in order to get away. 

The Alarm Guardian approached even closer now and Elliot made his move. He jumped down into the crevice and looked up just as the spotlight peered over the edge and shined down. Elliot jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the shining light and when he looked back, he saw that the Alarm Guardian seemed to be stuck in one spot. It wasn't moving towards him as it should be and a slow smile spread across the boys face and he immediately got to his feet and started running as swiftly as he could away from the dangerous spotlight. 

The party was stirred awake early that morning by Umbrae who had a desire to get moving into the forest so that they could all leave just as quickly. Nights let out a loud yawn and went over to the fire, trying to stoke the flame back up. Pirdy opened her eyes and smiled as she saw the sun peek its way through the trees and onto the forest floor. Claris was the last to awaken, stretching languorously and shaking out her red hair. She looked all about her, peering as deep as she could into the forest and trying to peer through the dark shadows that lay beyond. Without a thought Nights leapt up into the air, heading towards the nearest tree and coming back down a moment later with his arms bearing some fruit and berries. 

"We'll need our strength and the book says that these are pretty good." He held out what appeared to be a yellow pear with red spots all over it. He handed the fruit and then took a large bite out of his own, smiling happily as he chewed. "Tastes like apples." That was all the rest of them needed, they bit into their own fruit and just as quickly all three spit it out. 

"Mine tastes like black licorice." complained Claris. 

"That's not so bad, mine tasted like boiled spinach." piped up Pirdy. 

"I'm not even going to try and tell you what mine tasted like." finally came Umbrae. 

Nights only blinked and took another bite of his fruit, shrugging his shoulders and saying, "It still tastes like an apple to me." He continued eating his own fruit, passing out some berries and nuts to the girls who found these far tastier. As they ate, Nights once more peered back up into the trees, concentrating on one spot for a moment, tilting his head left and right. Only Claris found this behavior peculiar and she walked over to Umbrae quietly, whispering to her, "What's he doing?" 

"He spies something up in the trees and he's trying to figure out what it is and whether or not it's a threat. He doesn't want to go up there and attack it, which might invoke the spirits of the forest. We don't need them angry at us right before we go into the center." 

Claris nodded and turned once more, kneeling beside the fire and holding out her hands to ward off the early morning chills. She didn't really want to head into the center of the forest, the ominous shadows that she saw all around her frightened her beyond belief. It seemed as though they were waiting to consume her and her friends at any moment. She desperately wished that Elliot was here right now, he would have put his arm around her, told her everything was going to be alright and that Nights and he would be there to make sure she was alright. She spoke in a quiet voice, saying, "Blast it Elliot, where are you?" 

Elliot peered out from around one of the columns of the Ideya temple that he had finally found, quite by accident. The Alarm Guardian had broken loose from the waters entrancing grip and immediately set about trying to find the Dreamer once more. When Elliot had entered the temple, it lost all traces and had moved off in an easterly direction, the eerie spotlight searching left and right once more. The boy waited until the object had moved off behind some hills before he looked towards the west and at the long shadows made by the rising sun. He had beaten the Alarm Guardian, and now the thought was starting to creep into his head, "Where do I even begin looking?" He looked up into the sky as though Nights would automatically fly by at any moment, and when he didn't, it made Elliot even more worried. "Nights always told me that he would never leave Spring Valley if he could help it. He's not here, so that means that something is wrong. If something is wrong, that means he would be heading towards Nightmare Tower, and Nightmare Tower is west. So, it looks like we're heading west." He went over his logic two more times before nodding his head and stepping out from the Ideya temple, his shadow stretching out before him. 

The party flew through the forest, at a steady pace. The sun dappled the ground below them, pointing out the myriad of road signs that seemed strewn about all over the place. The ground had not changed from the usual hilly terrain that seemed to be the norm in Dreamworld, but the trees had become a lot thicker at their base and seemed to rise ever higher towards the sky. As they drew closer to the forest, flocks of Shleep would rise out of nowhere and move to attack them, using their horns to try and drive the party back the way they came. Nights quickly dealt with the threat, raising his sword and driving the monsters off with the flame that he caused to erupt from it. Soon after that, they were attacked by what appeared to be large, hairy spiders with legs. Pirdy fainted. Umbrae was quick to react, using her daggers deftly and dispatching the monsters easily. After waking Pirdy with some water and some shaking, they took off once more towards the center of the forest. Every so often Nights would land, look at one of the road signs, then at the book, and then would take off in a completely direction. He had warned the others to stay close to him and to not deviate from their course no matter what. One wrong move would get them lost in the forest with almost no hope of getting out. Umbrae didn't seem to buy into this theory as she pointed out to Nights that they could fly straight up into the air and be out of the forest in moments. Nights stopped and smirked, marking the page he was at and snapping the book shut. "Try it." was all he said. 

Umbrae took the challenge with her own smirk hidden beneath her mask and flew straight up into the air, going faster and faster as she did so. She looked back down at the ground, expecting to see the others way below her and was surprised to see that they were only a few feet away. She blinked once and then turned back, this time flying harder and faster than she had before. After a few moments, she turned back and saw that she had gone only a little further away from the others, their expressions still clear on their faces. She growled and this time flew faster, spinning herself into a Drill Attack and giving her the greatest amount of speed possible. She turned back around once more and saw the she hadn't gotten any further than before. She only blinked her surprise, heading back towards the group and looking at Nights with a question in her eyes. 

"Mystic Forest is protected by some very powerful magic that hasn't been seen in centuries, we're talking ancient magic that not even Wizeman could hope to possess. That same magic protects the forest from people coming from above the trees and hoping to enter the center, and it also keeps those that are trying to find their way deeper into the forest from getting out whenever they can. You could spend your entire existence flying straight up and still only make it about halfway." 

Umbrae looked up once more and nodded her head before peering at Nights again. "So, we continue on?" With that, Nights proceeded to open the book again and look in a couple of directions. He pointed and said, "That way." and he took off once more into the forest. 

A pair of emerald eyes watched the entire scene, amusement sparkling in them as she watched the Nightmaren try and fly straight out. When the group sped off into the forest once more, they were quick to follow, always in the shadows, and never wavering from their target. They weaved around the trees almost as though they knew exactly where each of them stood, the eyes never wavering from their target. When Nights sped off in a different direction without warning, the eyes never wavered. They knew that the group below was trying to find the center and it was time to stop them from reaching it, no matter how curious they found the group to be. 

"We're being followed." Umbrae spoke as she flew closer to Nights and Claris. "The creature is trying to keep to the shadows, but I can sense the presence. It's good, whatever it is." 

"Good?" asked Claris. 

"It took all the way until just now for me to detect it, and usually I can sense a presence from quite a distance away." 

Nights continued to fly on, not wanting to let the creature know that they were on to its presence. Instead, he spoke to Umbrae and said, "Where is it?" 

"Above us, about twenty yards back. It's trying to use the sunlight to blind us to its presence as well." 

"Impossible," said Nights as he continued to fly. "According to the book, we're on the only path that's allowed. Any deviation from this path would get us lost in Mystic Forest forever. It shouldn't be able to keep up with us if it's twenty yards off." 

"I'm only telling you what I'm sensing and what I've confirmed with my eyes. It's back there, and it's still following us with ease." 

Nights ordered the other Nightmaren to stop and turned, taking out the sword and looking up towards the sky to try and find this creature following them. "Show yourself!" he shouted, and braced himself for attack. He lowered himself to the ground and allowed Claris to slide off his back. "Hide behind that tree, try not to show yourself. Pirdy, you too." Both of them nodded and made their way to a large tree and hid behind it, waiting. Umbrae already had her daggers out and was peering all about her when Nights darted back into the sky and took a position behind her back. 

The emerald green eyes stopped and blinked once, trying to figure out how she had been spotted. The one in black was looking all about, and Nights seemed calm with his eyes closed trying to pick up the faintest sound. It was now or never, and the eyes descended slowly. 

"Nights, there it is." Umbrae pointed towards the slender figure descending out of the shadows and right into their vision. Nights spun about, his sword at the ready as he watched. What met his eyes caused them to open wide and his breath to come to him sharply. It was the most beautiful Nightmaren he had ever seen and she had eyes of the purest emerald green. 

Wizeman sighed as he saw Idia fall. He turned away from his mirror, which let him see many things without leaving his tower. He knew that he needed the food supplies that Idia had, he had only wished that Reala had not let loose his anger on the place. The city was truly a beautiful one, and that beauty would never be recaptured now that it had been utterly destroyed. As he turned, his eyes settled on a frightening sight. 

A figure dressed in what appeared to be a large cloak was kneeling behind him. Its face was covered with a make-up that gave the appearance of a menacing grin. A jesters cap had been placed atop his head, tiny bells dangling from the ends of the three points. Jackal was truly a frightful figure, an image he did nothing to discount. When he spoke, it was with a low, gruff voice that belied his slender figure. "What is the service you wish of me, Lord Wizeman." 

"Your loss to Nights was a bitter one, was it not Jackal?" 

"It still haunts my thoughts, my lord, but I shall one day have my vengeance on that plum colored freak." 

"Your vengeance may come sooner than you think, for Nights is in a weakened state right now and I need you to kill him." 

Jackal only smiled, making his face only more frightening. His eyes narrowing slightly at the thought of terrible pains that he could inflict upon Nights when he fell to his magic cards. "You would give me the pleasure of killing him, my lord, instead of Reala or Clawz? What did I do to deserve such generosity?" 

"Do not mistake this for generosity. If you defeat Nights, all the better. If you do not, then I will know exactly where Nights stands and I may send Reala in afterwards to deal with him. It is merely a test of my former son, to see where his abilities lay. I will not have him ruining my plans this time. I will capture the red ideya that I need this time, and I will bring the two worlds together and rule them both." 

Jackals smile faded as he realized that he was merely a test subject, but quickly reappeared as he realized that Wizeman expected him to win hands down. Reala was busy fighting the war to take time off to go and find and fight Nights. Wizeman, for all of his power, was not a general and didn't know how to properly control and use troops on the battlefield. Jackal cackled, which came out almost as a growl. "Consider it done, Lord Wizeman. I will bring you the head of Nights on a platinum platter." 

"Go then, Demi-Maren, and do not fail me again. This time, it will cost you more than you know if you do not succeed." Wizeman turned back towards the mirror, once again turning his attention to the destroyed city if Idia and watching his Nightmaren pillage all that was left of it. Jackal merely stood and walked out of the room, a thin trickle of sweat running down his forehead. He did not intend to fail, but he knew the hell that Wizeman could put him through if he discovered that Nights was still alive. 

She was dressed in dark green with black that ran down the side of her body, legs and boots. Her floppies were black with a golden leaf on the forehead. The jewel on her chest was the same pattern as the leaf, but was red in color, glowing slightly in the sunlight, which glinted off of it. Her entire suit hugged her hourglass figure tightly with only the sleeves being wide and hanging off her delicate wrists. Her skin was a cream color but seemed to contain a slight green shine to it and her lips were a deep crimson red. She hovered in front of the two Nightmaren, her arms hanging to the side, her hand lightly clutching a long spear. She only sat there, watching them with an intensity that made Nights shiver slightly. This was a woman who was in complete control of her environment. 

Umbrae, however, was not impressed. She took one look at the green Nightmaren and she narrowed her eyes immediately in hostility. "Who are you, and why are you following us." 

"I am Iona, Commander of the Mystic Rangers. It is my duty to ensure that you do not reach the center. I am most sorry, but I must stop you here." She still made no move with her weapon. 

Umbrae snorted in response, "Mystic Rangers? Is it you that has prevented Reala and his armies from taking the forest?" 

Iona only nodded her head, "It has been us, yes. Please, turn back from your present course. What you seek is forbidden to you and will only cause you harm. I do not wish to harm you, for you have not harmed the forest." 

"Are you threatening us, you overdressed tart?" Umbrae twirled the daggers in her hand and dashed towards Iona in a rage. The Ranger lifted her hand and pointed the palm at Umbrae. Vines flashed from the trees and surrounded the attacking Nightmaren, capturing her in midair and binding her tightly. The Night Terror struggled in the bonds, trying to use her daggers to cut her way out, but it was no use, the vines had her wrapped up tightly. Iona started to close her hand and Umbrae screamed as the vines started to squeeze. 

"No!" shouted Nights who used his Drill Dash to try and distract the Ranger. Iona turned her eyes towards Nights and dropped her spear to the ground, raising her other hand, her palm pointed upwards. From the ground a whirlwind of leaves and branches swirled upwards and surrounded Nights, sending splinters and gravel at his face and eyes. Nights had to stop his dash and cover his face as the stinging debris battered him. In the next moment, Iona turned her hand so that the palm faced Nights, causing more vines to shoot out and entangle the hero. Nights tried in vain to use his weapon to free himself, just as Umbrae had. It was no use, however, as the vines had him tightly. His eyes looked at Iona and went wide in fear as she started to close her hand, causing the vines to constrict around him. He screamed in pain as he his breath being squeezed out of him. 

Claris looked up from behind the tree she was hiding behind and saw Nights and Umbrae both being suffocated to death. She looked at Pirdy and shouted, "Do something!" Pirdy took out one of her bandages and picked up a stone from the ground. She placed the stone on the bandage and swirled it around, slinging the rock directly towards Iona's head. It only took a moment for the Ranger to react to the danger, she moved Umbrae's body directly in the path of the stone and it ricocheted off of the vines in a different direction. Iona's eyes flashed green for a moment and the grass on the ground sprang up around Pirdy's ankles and started to surround her legs. Claris kneeled down and tried to rip the grass off, but it was coming too fast. She looked down at her own feet and saw that the grass was now surrounding her and she reached down to try and rip it off. Pirdy picked up another stone, placing it in her makeshift sling and twirling it about her head, aiming for Iona's head once more. The grass was too quick, however, and after a brief moment, it had finally consumed and surrounded her. She fell to the ground right next to Claris who was also cocooned by the grass. 

Iona landed lightly on the ground, the two Nightmaren in the twisted vines landed with a small thud on the ground. She opened her hands and her eyes returned to their normal state. The vines whipped away, and the grass slithered off of Claris and Pirdy. She picked up her spear and once more peered at the group. Nights and Umbrae seemed to fall to their knees simultaneously, trying to catch their breath. Claris was the first to speak as she said, "Wh..who or what are you?" Iona didn't answer, she only continued to watch them catch their breaths. Umbrae was furious, the rage inside of her building up, and her breath coming between clenched teeth. Nights finally stood up and returned the steady gaze, his voice quiet as he said, "You control the trees and the plants of the forest. That is how you keep everyone away. Bend some branches this way, grow some grass that way and pretty soon you have an entirely different forest. If they continue to find their way into the center, you just strangle them with the vines until they are unconcious and then you toss them outside the forest." 

Iona nodded her head slowly, "It has been this way since the Ancients created Dreamworld. None may see the temple save for those that are worthy of its secrets. I am told that you are worthy, Nights." She looked up into the trees and said, "Safaia..Kumori..to me." A moment later, two more female Nightmaren arrived, each dressed the same way as Iona, and each carrying a long spear. 

Safaia stepped forward, her sapphire blue eyes narrowing as they settled on Umbrae, "This one is a Night Terror, Commander. She must be sent out of the Forest. I have seen her attack some villages on the southern borders of the forest." 

Kumori stepped forward as well, lowering her spear and pointing it at Pirdy. "This one is a Nightmaren healer, capture her and the enemy cannot heal their own." Her grey eyes glinted in the sunlight. Pirdy took a step back, hiding behind Claris as her eyes took in the tip of the spear that was hovering nearer and nearer. Claris held up her hand and said, "You can't hurt her, she's my friend, and she saved Nights from Nightmare Tower." 

Kumori only nodded her head and then turned the spear towards Umbrae, even as Safaia was raising her own. "This one doesn't deserve to live, Iona. This one is dangerous, and a murderer." 

Nights stood over Umbrae and raised his sword, even as the Night Terror started to growl lowly. "She's changed," Nights spoke, "she's no longer on the enemies side." 

"Enough!" said Iona harshly. Her eyes looked at Nights and then at Umbrae and then took a deep breath into her lungs. Her face turned upwards, becoming bathed in one of the beams of light that poked it's way through the huge trees. 

"We can take them," whispered Umbrae as she continued to keep her eyes on the two Rangers. "They are not strong." 

"If they all have powers like Iona, then we wouldn't stand a chance. Their abilities to control the trees is impressive. The way they're holding those spears, they look as though they are well trained in their use as well. No, the Commander says I'm worthy of some kind of wisdom. Let's find out what that is first." 

"You promised me fights, Nights." Umbrae whispered, although clearly behind a smirk. "I can take my first part of that promise out on these two." 

Nights chuckled a little and put his hand under Umbrae's arm, helping her off the ground. "Patience, Umbrae, patience. We'll see action soon enough. These Nightmaren are not our enemies, no. They are doing what they have been told to do, and that is protect Mystic Forest." 

A few moments later, Iona turned her face back to the others and said, "They are to all come with us. I have spoken to Weisheit and he wants them all to come." Safaia and Kumori both bowed their heads, almost reverently Nights noted, and stepped back. "Nights, please follow us." 

The three Rangers lifted off in unison and waited. Nights turned to the others and said, "Let's follow and see where they take us. I want to know what this wisdom is, and I have a feeling that whoever is truly in charge is willing to talk to us." He kneeled down and let Claris hop onto his back and lifted off, followed closely by the others. After a moment, the entire group flew off, straight for the center and ignoring all the signs along the way. 

Nights flew to catch up with Iona, his eyes staring intensely at her as they sped along through the trees. She turned her head to look back at him, raising an eyebrow as she did so. "What are you looking at?" she finally asked. 

"You're Nightmaren, that much I can obviously figure out. If you're Nightmaren, that means you were created by Wizeman. How does a Nightmaren from Wizeman's army turn into a Mystic Ranger?" 

She only smiled and turned her eyes forward once more, flying around a tree. "Weisheit shall answer all your questions, curious one. I am merely a protector, as are the others. My master is the one who shall grant you the wisdom and knowledge that you seek." There was a finality to the answer, and Nights did not pursue the subject further. As they continued to weave through the trees, Nights noticed a series of bright orange lights straight ahead of them. As they got closer, the orange lights became more noticeable and revealed themselves to be torches, and they were lighting what appeared to be the streets of a small village where there were more Nightmaren, all of them dressed differently, and all of their eyes staring straight at the arriving party. 

Iona turned to the others and her smile grew wider, "Welcome everyone, welcome to Egodo. You have reached the center of Mystic Forest." 


	9. Chapter Eight: When Nightmaren Dream

Body Chapter Eight 

When Nightmaren Dream

Iona had led them through the village to her own house. It was a large dwelling built up in the branches of one of the smaller trees in the forest. While the tree itself stood six stories tall, the other trees of Mystic Forest dwarfed it. The beauty of Iona's home surprised Nights, he had expected something harsh and utilitarian for a warrior, but instead he saw comfort everywhere he looked. The floor of the home contained rugs of a variety of colors, which covered the solid wood. Chairs and couches were situated in places to make conversation easy but to also give the appearance of making the room seem as large as possible. Vases, filled with jeweled flowers and plants, dotted the entire area, some of them sitting on a shelf above a fireplace with a small fire already burning inside. As Nights stepped out onto the balcony, he saw Egoda down below, a small village nestled in between the strong trunks of the Forest. Columns of wispy smoke rose up from the lazy village and he could hear the sound of children laughing and playing. He could now understand why the Ranger chose to live up here, it was almost perfect, a small paradise in an otherwise harsh and hectic life. 

"Lovely, isn't it?" spoke a warm voice from behind Nights. The Nightmaren turned his head and saw the deep emerald eyes of Iona watching him intently. 

Nights turned back towards the village, nodding his head slowly. "It is, I can see why you protect it so fiercely. If Wizeman ever got his hands on these Nightmaren, especially those kids, I shudder to think what would happen to them." 

Iona joined him on the balcony, "It's not just the village that we protect, it's also the temple, and the serenity of the forest. This place is very important to Dreamworld, although Reala and his lieutenants don't understand that." 

"And Wizeman? Does he understand?" 

"I don't know, but I would like to think he does. I'm not the one whom you should be asking, you should speak to Weisheit on such matters. I'm just a warrior." 

Nights smiled, looking at Iona once more. "You're not just a warrior, you were one of the Nightmaren that captured me all those months ago. Back in Spring Valley when I was trying to catch a nap, you were the only one to make it through the window on the windmill. I was truly impressed, not many Nightmaren can do that kind of maneuver." 

The Ranger chuckled, although her eyes didn't truly show the mirth that she was portraying. "I was wondering how long it was going to take you to recognize me. I want to apologize for that, and I want you to know that I have changed since then." 

"What changed you, if you don't mind my asking?" 

"Weisheit mostly, and perhaps I grew up after that happened." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, listening to the wind through the trees and the song of the birds that populated the trees. "I thought Reala was perfect." she finally spoke. "He was so beautiful to behold, in battle and in the camp. I so admired him, and perhaps loved him a little." Her eyes opened, clearly in another place and time as she spoke. "When I was personally chosen to go along with him to capture you, my heart leaped. When you lifted off the ground and we gave chase, your flying was superb but all I could think about was how this shiftless, lazy Nightmaren could beat my perfect General. Then you made that maneuver into the windmill, and nobody could follow. I was determined to show you that we were better and so I flew in after you and barely made it. When I turned and saw that Reala had not followed, it jarred my mind awake a little. He was afraid of you, he was afraid to give chase after you. I began to realize that perhaps Reala was just not all that perfect. It left a crack in my mind that Weisheit used to get in and make me realize that everything around me was a mistake. So I left, and came here and joined the Mystic Rangers. Ever since then, I have known nothing but happiness." 

Nights found that he could not take his eyes off the beautiful Nightmaren. Though he tried, something about the green tinge of her skin, the large emerald eyes that seemed lost in thought, or something he couldn't identify seemed to draw his eyes to her. He cleared his throat, forcefully tearing his eyes away towards the village once more. "I understand completely. I too know that they are not so great, but it took me a long time to realize it. When I left and became free, I knew a great joy and happiness in my new freedom. That was until Wizeman started stealing Red Ideya, and ever since then I've had to struggle against him." 

Iona placed a warm, strong hand on Nights shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Rest for a few days, it will take Weisheit that long to make his way here to speak to you. In the meantime, my house is your house. The village is free for you to walk through, but I wouldn't leave its borders. The Forest is dangerous, and it doesn't trust you quite yet. If you get lost, it could be forever despite my bets efforts to find you." 

"What will you be doing in the meantime?" asked Nights, watching Iona. 

"I have heard some rumors from my spies and I'm going to go out and check them and see if their true or not." She smiled and leaped over the railing of the balcony, floating her way to the ground like a gentle leaf before landing and leaping upwards in an arc to fly off into the forest. Nights only shook his head, still trying to get her beauty out of his mind. He sighed and walked back inside to get some much-needed rest. 

Elliot had spent the past five hours walking across the hills of Spring Valley and he could barely make out the first fountain park of Splash Garden in the distance. He would wake up in a few hours, whether by himself or because of his mother. He knew that he was not going to make the Mystic Forest in that time, and had spied what appeared to be a town close-by. He turned course and headed towards the short, squat buildings. After a few minutes, a path began to form from the grass, which turned into a street a short time later. 

Nightopians populated the town itself; all of who appeared to be in some kind of hurry, fluttering back and forth around his head and through the streets. They didn't appear worried about the fact that a Dreamer had just walked into their midst, their flights taking them off in various directions. Elliot tried to ask some of the Nightopians passing close-by just what was going on and, had to finally step directly in front of one and hold up his hand. The speeding winged creature came to an immediate halt, almost smashing into the boy. "What? What do you want? Can't you see I'm in a hurry?" 

"I want to know what's going on. Why are you all rushing around?" 

"Haven't you heard? Oh, you're a Dreamer, of course you wouldn't have heard. Idia has fallen to the Wizeman's Armies and the survivors are heading this way. We have to be prepared to receive them, and they're only a few minutes out." 

"Whoa, no way. Is there anything I can do to help?" 

"Yeah, you could get out of my way." The Nightopian fluttered past before Elliot could reply, and then another flew by and another. He decided the best thing he could do was to make himself scarce, and he ducked into a nearby inn and sat down, just watching everything pass. "Please don't have been in Idia, Claris, please." As he spoke those words, a horn sounded off in the distance and he turned to look outside as the first of the refugees started pouring into the town. 

Umbrae's nightmares started as they always did when she fell asleep. Voices and images so horrible and haunting as to frighten the proud Night Terror once again caused her to awake with a frightful yell in the middle of the night. Her pure red eyes opened and looked about the room that she was in, and she took a deep breath as she realized that she was all right. The sound of running footsteps could be heard outside the door and a moment later Nights came crashing in, his sword held in his hands and it's flame burning fiercely. "Umbrae, you alright? I heard screaming." His muscles were tensed and ready, prepared to fight whatever was in the room. 

"No, it was nothing. I'm alright, it was just a bad dream." she said, a tremble still in her voice. 

Nights nodded and lowered the sword, the tongue of flame dying down to a low glow that he could see her by. "Are you sure? You want me to get you something?" There was concern in his voice, and Umbrae was puzzled by it, unsure why he would make an offer like that and wondering what he could possibly retrieve that would make her feel better. What she did know was that it made her feel better that he was concerned, and it caused her heart to skip a beat. "N..no, thank you. It was just a dark dream, nothing I can't handle." 

"Well, if you're sure. I'll be down the hall if you want to talk." He turned and walked out the door, closing it gently behind him. Umbrae smiled slightly, almost sad to see the Nightmaren go and wondering what kind of feeling was coming over her and was only a moment away from leaping out of the bed and going down the hall. She shook that thought off and laid back down, letting out a long breath and slowing her rapidly beating heart. 

"He's a nice young man, isn't he?" came a deep voice from out of the darkness. Umbrae bolted up once more, drawing out a dagger from underneath her pillow and looking about the room. "Who's there?" she said, tensing up her muscles in preparation for combat. 

"Can't you see me, Nightmaren? No, I imagine you can't with your special eyes." 

"I can see just fine." She could not, however, see the voice that was speaking to her. "You must be some kind of ghost, or something, because you don't register a heat signature or else I'd spy you for sure." 

"Is that how you see? You use infrared to spy your enemies. What a marvelous thing, were you born with such a talent or was it forced upon you by Wizeman and Reala?" The voice was in a different part of the room this time and Umbrae whirled her dagger towards it, her eyes still scanning. "It is infrared, something that all Night Terrors are born with. It was..an honor.. to receive it." 

"It doesn't sound like you believe that. Please child, lower your weapon. I will not harm you, for it is I who you have come to see, or in your case, to hear." 

"You are Weisheit? Then how come I cannot see you, are you really a ghost? Why aren't you speaking to Nights instead of me?" 

A happy chuckle came from another part of the room, this time Umbrae didn't spin around to confront it. "No child, I am not a ghost, not yet anyway. I am a spirit, a kindred spirit. I will speak to Nights soon enough, but tonight I want to talk to you. Tell me, have you never seen the color of the sky, or of the trees in this very forest?" 

"No, I have not. I see the colors that heat gives off, but everything that does not register heat is black. Reala told me that the world was nothing special to see, and that I should enjoy my unique perspective and use it to my best advantage, which I have." 

"Yes, you have, of that I have no doubt. You do, however, travel with Nights under false pretenses. You tell him that you fly with his team in order to fight and in order to answer your own questions. That's not true though, is it?" 

Umbrae looked a little startled now and raised her dagger once more, slashing it through the air with fury. "Ghost or no ghost, you stay out of my thoughts. Why I travel with Nights is a personal reason that no spirit or whatever you are needs to know about." 

"I apologize, child, I did not mean to upset you. Reading the thoughts of others is something that naturally comes to me like the infrared comes to you. It is something that I cannot help." 

"I don't care what you have to do, stay out of my thoughts." 

Weisheit realized that he was touching on a sensitive area, and while he had read the thoughts of the Nightmaren, he was not prepared for the veracity with which she would defend them. "I'd like to make up for what I have done. What can I do to make up for it?" There was a moment of silence as he contemplated, and then a thought came to his mind. "Ah, I know, what if I were to give you the ability to see as other Nightmaren see?" 

"What do you mean? I can see just fine." The dagger lowered once more onto the blanket as Umbrae continued to scan the room for the hovering voice. It continued to move about as though it could not find a place to land, and she once more turned as it came from another place. 

"Can you? You cannot see me, and I think that puts you at a unique disadvantage. That's a disadvantage that you cannot afford to have with the places that you will be going to. What if I could fix your eyes so that you could see the blue of the sky and the green of my trees as well as use your infrared when you needed it?" 

"What if you could. I'm not in debt to anyone, not Reala, not Nights, nobody. I am my own Nightmaren and if your assistance would cause me to be in your debt, than you can forget about it. My sight is just fine." 

Weisheit chuckled a little, shaking his head. "No, you would not be in my debt, or anyone else's for that matter. This is something that I would like to do for you, in way of apology for my entering your thoughts so carelessly." 

Umbrae swallowed hard, her breath coming a little faster at the thought of finally being able to see the world as it was meant to be seen. She had always seen everything as a heat source, and this would be something new to her, and that was always a little frightening, especially to one who had known nothing but fear and discipline all of her life. "I..I..don't know what I would do. I think, however, that I would like it." 

"Would you like me to help you? There would be no pain, and you would have time to adjust before you left Egoda." 

She hesitated once more, lost in thought for a moment as she considered what she would be giving up and what she would be gaining. Finally she took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she said, "Yes, I think I would." An instant after Umbrae spoke the words, her solid red eyes seemed to almost drain away. Her eyelids slammed shut as the infrared world that she knew suddenly swirled about and caused her to become dizzy. She just kept her eyes close as they became solid white, and then a small black dot appeared and started growing wider and wider. A perfect circle formed in the center of her eye and continued to expand, finally turning from black to red and forming the perfect circular pupil. When she opened her eyes, color seemed to explode into her head and she had to quickly close them once more. 

"Wait for a while before you open them again," said Weisheit quickly, "you will need time to adjust to the new world around you and that's going to be a little difficult. Your mind is not used to interpreting all the shades and colors around you. For right now, I want you to sleep and when you wake up, you will be able to open your eyes and not be so bombarded with color." 

Umbrae nodded her head, a smile coming to her lips as even that momentary glance made her realize that the world was a much more beautiful place than she had realized, even with the way that everyone had described it. Then the smile faded as she realized that she would have to go back to the dark dreams that always haunted her. "Do I have to go back to sleep?" 

"Yes, child, you do. Don't worry though, I'll be right here." The voice was so warm, and so reassuring that Umbrae could do little to disbelieve it. She laid her head back onto her pillow, slipping the dagger back underneath. In little more than a few seconds, she was fast asleep once more. As the dark denizens of her sleep again tried to find their way into her dreams, a beam of pure light shattered the darkness, causing them to reel back. "You will not have her tonight, creatures. She is done suffering your torments and is now under my protection. Be gone!" The light expanded forcefully, driving back the voices that cackled evilly, and the horrid faces that went along with them. The soft light replaced it all, and after a moment the voice of Weisheit spoke softly, "Now, let's teach you about colors, and perhaps you and I can have some fun before you wake up." 

It was the most peaceful sleep that Umbrae had ever had. 

Jackal flew close to the ground, avoiding all contact with the Nightmaren patrols that seemed to be flying all over the place now. Reala was starting his conquest of the area now, hoping to gain the knowledge that the museum desired to keep secret from Wizeman and all of his people. Jackal knew that Reala had another purpose, but right now it eluded him. All he knew for sure was that Reala would most likely end up burning the huge building down and in the end, all that knowledge would be lost. "A pity," he thought, "there is so much in there to be learned." 

Another turn helped him to avoid yet another patrol that seemed to be heading towards Mystic Forest, and then he turned again, continuing his flight towards Spring Valley. He looked once more towards Soft Museum and saw a large group of Nightmaren start to charge forward, the museum's defenses rising up out of the walls and firing on them to drive them away. The Nightmaren group scattered and a hail of arrows went flying from the rear lines, explosive tipped arrows slamming against the side building and taking out one of the museum cannons. Reala was sacrificing his own troops to draw out the weapons, it was a stupid plan, but then again Reala was not known for his intelligence. While it was not the best of plans, it was a plan that was going to work. Soft Museum had a few days at most before all of the defenses were destroyed. 

The battlefield was left behind as the soft and bouncy landscape of Soft Museum started to change to the cobblestone paths and green grass of Splash Gardens. After that, it was only a couple of hours to Spring Valley and there someone would know where Nights was hiding. After that, it was only a matter of time before the Demi-maren had Nights in his claws. 

While the battlefield around the Museum was once more starting to erupt, deep within Mystic Forest, everything was peaceful. Egoda was just awakening to the new day and once more the village started coming to life. The hunters were in good spirits as they repaired their nets and talked about the great catches that they had made the day before. The gardeners were tending the berry bushes and vegetable gardens while the sang a song that all of them seemed to know. Children were already running through the street, on their way to what appeared to be a school building in the center of the village. 

Up in the tree house, Claris stretched and yawned loudly, causing Pirdy to stir underneath her blanket. The Dreamer hopped out of bed, eager to go explore the village down below as she slipped on her Nightmaren outfit. She pushed her hair back into a ponytail, deciding that she wasn't going to wear the floppies and walked out of the room, almost bumping into Umbrae as she did so. 

"Umbrae! What happened to your eyes!" asked Claris as she noticed the change almost immediately, a smile coming to her lips. 

"What?! What's wrong with them?" She looked as though she was about to pull her mask up and over her head as she looked back at Claris. 

"Nothing at all, I think they're awesome." She laughed, and her laughter became infectious, causing Umbrae to start laughing as well. 

Pirdy walked out the door as she heard the commotion outside. She was just tucking her hair into her floppy as she spied the new features on Umbrae. "Wow, red eyes. They're like rubies." 

Umbrae only blushed as the two ladies compliments kept on coming. She was unused to the idea of being the center of attention, and it was another new thing that she would have to become used to. 

"I wish I had eyes as lovely as yours, Umbrae, I'd drive Elliot insane with jealousy." Claris laughed again, her smile coming wide as she imagined the expression on her boyfriend's face. 

Pirdy nodded her head and said, "Well, I'm off to breakfast in the main hall. They don't have a healer in the village and Safaia asked if I would help out. You two coming?" 

Claris started following Pirdy out when Umbrae stopped her. "Uhm, Claris. Can I ask you a question?" 

Claris stopped, raising an eyebrow. She waved to Pirdy, "Go on, I'll meet you at the main hall in a minute." As Pirdy walked out the door, Claris looked at Umbrae, curiosity in her expression as the Nightmaren had never really wanted to speak to her before. "Sure, what can I help you with?" 

The Nightmaren twined her fingers together, her eyes lowering to the ground as she tried to think of a way to ask her question. She sighed and growled, "Just ask." She nodded and took a deep breath, turning her eyes back up towards Claris. "How did you get Elliot to fall in love with you?" A deep crimson stained her cheeks after she asked the question and she felt like she wanted to run away and hide in the deepest and darkest shadow Mystic Forest could provide. 

Claris' eyes went wide and a huge smile crept into her lips after the question was asked. Umbrae was asking her advice on how to catch a man. It had obviously been hard for the Nightmaren to come to her with such a question and Claris didn't want to frighten her off when she was so close to finally making friends. She wrapped her arm around Umbrae's, saying, "Girl, there is so much I could tell you. Come on, let's go have some breakfast and we'll talk." 

Nights spent much of the day as the others did, exploring the village and talking with the other Nightmaren that had made it their home. There were many more than he had first seen, many of them had been out in the forest when he and his friends had first arrived and they were all eager to talk to him about what was going on outside of the forest. The children intrigued Nights, he had never really believed that Nightmaren could have children, and yet there they were, running around and laughing as children should. If Nights hadn't known that there was a war waging outside of the forest, he could have easily made this village his home. There was an innocence in everything around him, a sense that nothing outside could enter, and that suited its residents just fine. 

"I used to be a part of Wizeman's army, I was a pikeman." said a Nightmaren who was dressed in the deep green that seemed to be common among the village residents. Nights sat down in the offered chair, the Nightmaren pouring him a glass of juice. "One morning we started attacking this small village on the eastern border of Stick Canyon. We were told that a band of Cat-maren was there, planning on attacking Nightmare Tower. My squad and I charged in and all we found were Nightopians there, doing nothing more than living peacefully. Reala ordered us to destroy everything and everyone in sight. I refused, I'm a warrior, not a murderer. When I dropped my pike, Reala ordered my squad to kill me for treason. I took off for Mystic Forest, my supposed friends hot on my trail with weapons in hand. I barely made it, took a couple of nasty hits before the Mystic Rangers saved me and brought me here." 

"You were lucky." was all Nights could say as he drank the sweet juice. 

"You're telling me. They brought me to Egoda and I've never looked back, never wanted to look back. These are good people, Nights, and worth protecting. I would have joined the Rangers myself, but the injuries kept me from doing so." 

This seemed to be the same kind of story that Nights heard from everyone he ran into. They were all a part of the Nightmaren army in some way, whether as archers or infantry, each had been a part of the effort to take back Dreamland and each had, in some way, found some decency and goodness deep within themselves. The Rangers and Mystic Forest had saved all of them, the trees being a natural place to seek safety. 

"We're the fortunate ones." said another Nightmaren who was sitting close by. "There are others out there that can't make it here to the Forest for safety. They're out there all alone. I know, my friend is one of them." 

"Can't you go out and find them?" asked Nights. 

"We would, but large groups seem to attract the attention of Reala's people, and traveling alone is not safe either. Sometimes we go out in groups of two or three to find someone to help, but the risk is just too great." 

Another Nightmaren chimed in, "Some of us also have families now, and we don't want to leave them behind." 

Nights understood perfectly, nodding his head in acceptance. He looked up into the sky and saw that it was growing dark, as he drank up the last of his juice, he bid his new friend's goodnight. He made his way back to Iona's house, landing on the doorstep and walking inside to the sounds of laughter coming from the main living area. As he looked in, he spied his three friends with their heads together giggling. "Hello, everyone. I'm back." The three girls poked their heads up all at once and then looked back at one another and started giggling. "Uh-oh", thought Nights, "this can't be good." 

As Claris lay in bed that night, she looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath, wondering how Elliot was doing and if he was looking for her in Dreamland at this moment. She tossed and turned for a few minutes and decided that she wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon. She pushed the comforter off of her and quietly left the room, making sure not to wake up Pirdy. When she reached the living area, she pushed a chair outside onto the balcony and sat down, bringing her knees up to her chest and taking a deep breath. 

The night air was perfect, cool and crisp as it brushed through her hair and past her ears. The leaves of the trees were swaying back and forth slightly, creating their own special kind of music that all people who seek comfort and quiet seem to enjoy. She looked down at the village below and saw one or two lights, and a number of chimneys still letting their smoke loose into the night sky. Claris let out a long sigh and brushed the hair out of her face, watching the stillness down below. "This place is perfect." 

"It is not perfect, your heart is what makes it perfect." Came a deep, gravelly voice. 

Claris jumped, looking about with wide and frightened eyes. "Who's there?" She turned and twisted, her eyes finally falling on a floating figure standing in midair off to her right. He was tall, taller than most adults she knew His face was aged, the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth showed that he often smiled. He was wearing a long white robe with a green jacket over that which hung down to his knees. In his hand he held a long staff made of deep mahogany wood with a yellow gemstone set in gold at the top. How he hovered in midair was still a mystery to her, but it was not a big mystery as to who he was. "Do you always go around scaring the snot out of people like that?" 

The old man chuckled and raised a weathered hand. "I apologize, child, it is one of the few joys that I have left at my age. I am Weisheit and you and your friends have traveled a long way to talk to me." 

Claris calmed down a little, moving her knees back to her chest and hugging them once more. "You look exactly how I thought you would look."  


"That's because I'm not actually here, I am still quite a distance away. You are seeing me as your mind wishes to see me. You will actually find my true appearance to be quite different. Tell me, Claris, are you still afraid of that which you've been gifted with?" 

"Gifted with, what do you mean?" 

"The magic, child, the powers you used to heal Nights with. Are you still afraid of them?" 

Claris shrugged her shoulders, turning her eyes away from Weisheit. "No, I'm not afraid of them. I mean, well, not that much anyway. I'm more afraid of the fact that they don't seem to be under my control, and that it seems to pop up when I'm not expecting it. I mean, I'm afraid I'll point a hand at one of my friends and burn them to a crisp. That is frightening." 

Weisheit hovered over the railing and landed next to Claris, sitting down on solid air and nodding his head. "For 500 years the magic you possess has been seeking a soul to bond with. No Dreamer has ever slept so soundly as you do right now. I do not think you realize just how close to death you really are." 

"You're not here to cheer me up, are you." Claris chuckled weakly, her smile fading from her lips. 

"No, I am here to answer your questions truthfully. I do not know why you sleep so deeply, that is a concern for the real world, and my knowledge is limited to Dreamworld. Normally your sleeping soul would wander these woods aimlessly, trying to find the path back to the waking world and back to your body. Nights, however, drew you out of the woods and brought you as close to him as possible. This kept you from being lost, and made you more corporeal here than ever. When the Magic felt your presence, it infused itself into you and gifted you with its power in return for a home." 

"It's alive?" She looked down at her hands as though expecting to see bugs crawl out from underneath her skin. 

Weisheit moved his hand over hers, blocking her view. "It is alive, but not in the sense that you are thinking. It doesn't walk, it doesn't speak, it doesn't even see. It does talk to you, however, and uses your thoughts and dreams to help you defend yourself, in order to defend itself and its home. You are not its master, and it is not yours. You are bonded together as friends would be." 

"I can't control it then. It will only react to defend me." 

Weisheit smiled and raised a finger, "Ah, that is where you are mistaken. You will not control it, you will use it to assist you. That is the price that it is willing to pay in order to live inside of you. At first you will have a little trouble as the magic tries to determine what you want from it. After a while, as its thoughts meld a little more with yours, it will become easier. Pretty soon, it will react instantly to what you want, probably before you even think about it. " 

Claris smiled and looked down at her hands, "Then how do I make it do what I want to?" 

"First, you must know that the magic inside of you is a positive energy, not a negative. That is how come it exists within your soul and has not been swallowed up by Wizeman, that is very important. The magic will depart your soul if it feels it become dark and twisted. Is that understood?" 

Claris nodded, suddenly becoming very excited. She sat up in her chair and became very attentive to Weisheit, whose smile became broader. "Alright, Claris, if you remember, I told you that the magic will talk to you through thoughts and dreams. First thing you do is to determine what it is you want to do. For now, let's do something simple like create a ball of light." 

Claris nodded and held open her hand. "Light." She waited a moment more, her smile fading as she realized that nothing was going to happen. 

Weisheit chuckled a little and shook his head. "No child, it is not that easy quite yet. The first thing you have to do is grab a memory. Some kind of memory that involves a light that is special to you. Bring that memory to the front and hold it there, and the magic will react to it." 

Closing her eyes, Claris took a deep breath and started sorting through her memories. Images of her birthday when she reached 13 years of age, then there were the bright spotlights that shone down on her during her concerts. The one that jumped to the front, however, was the fireworks celebration at Twin Seeds Tower. It was the last real date that she and Elliot had gone on before her career started to take off, and Gerald entered her life. She smiled warmly as the image became clearer, and then she felt her arm start to tingle as though it were asleep. The tingle moved down her arm and into her hand, staying there for a moment as the magic tried to determine what it is she wanted. Claris shut her eyes tight, trying to concentrate on the fireworks. The tingling in her hand started to grow and move up through her palm and then it stopped instantly. Claris opened her eyes to see a swirling ball of bright light in her hand, hovering slightly above it. It appeared as though to streaks of light were orbiting around one another in a race to see which was faster. The swirling lights started moving faster and faster, and Claris' eyes became wide with wonder as a moment later both of the lights shot up into the air and exploded in a burst of bright red sparks. A moment later a series of light blue sparks shot across the sky, and then green, and then back to blue. It was the fireworks display from her memories. 

"Very good, Claris, very good. This is simply marvelous for your first time. Of course, it's not quite what I had in mind, but the effort is what counts in the end. You only have to remember that some part of the memory will entwine itself in the magic. You should have chosen the candlelight." 

Claris was too busy laughing to hear much of what Weisheit said. The fireworks display had brought back wonderful memories of that night, and the jokes that Elliot had whispered in her ear. "That was a good night." She sighed and her smile was still on her lips. "I miss you, Elliot." 

"Don't worry child, you will see him again soon." 

"You promise." 

"Cross my heart. Now, let us watch this marvelous show that you and your magic have decided to provide." 

Elliot awoke once more into Dreamworld, back at the same location that he always started from, underneath the tree in Spring Valley. Off in the distance he saw a column of smoke, falling to his knees as he realized that the little village he had visited the night before had been attacked, and had been defeated. He slammed the side of the fist into the tree next to him and cursed, the fire in his eyes growing as he remembered how frightened all of those Nightopians had been. 

"They never stood a chance." said a quiet voice beside him. "The Nightmaren simply followed the refugees and attacked a moment after they all arrived." 

Elliot turned slowly and peered right into a pair of emerald eyes the likes of which he had never seen before. "Y..you're a Nightmaren. You're not Nights though. I thought Nights was the only Nightmaren in this world." 

"Boy, you haven't been here in a long time, have you. What did you think that Reala's Army consisted of?" 

"I don't know, I thought they were things like Jackal, or like Gillwing. I don't know what I was thinking his army was like. Who are you, and why are you here?" 

"My name is Iona, and I've come a long way just to find you. Weisheit told me that you always come here when you enter Dreamworld, so I waited all day for you. You're to come with me, and I'll take you to see Nights. We only have a few short hours, however, until you wake up and it's going to take all that time to get you to Mystic Forest." 

"Mystic Forest, Nights, what? Wait a moment, I'm here to find Claris, and why should I trust you anyway, didn't you just say that Reala's Army was made up of Nightmaren?" 

"You can trust me because..well..just because. I don't really have an answer to that, suffice it to say that I can take you to Claris and to Nights. Right now we just don't have a whole lot of time, and most of the questions you have I can answer for you on the way. Hop on my back, it's going to be a long flight and we don't have a lot of time." 

Elliot took a deep breath, following his instincts this time and hopping on the back of the Nightmaren. With an audible grunt, she leapt into the air. 

Nights walked through the village once more, this time to the town square where he sat down to relax. He watched the children run through the street after what appeared to be a baby Shleep, and then stop and turn as the Shleep lowered it's striped horns and tried to ram them back. He laughed and spied Claris and Umbrae walking quietly, their heads close together as they spoke in low tones about subjects Nights didn't even want to think about. They were walking towards Pirdy who had set up shop inside one of the small huts, where she was speaking to a very pregnant Nightmaren about something that once again Nights didn't want to think about. He looked at the kids once again, blinking as they seemed to be running slower than they were before. Must be getting tired, thought Nights, I would be too if I was chasing a Shleep around all day. It was more than that, however, they seemed to want to be running at full speed, they were just moving a lot slower. He turned his eyes towards Claris and Umbrae, and they were slowing down as well. All of the village seemed to be walking a little more slowly and Nights put his hand on the hilt of his sword, standing quickly. "Magic." 

"Of a kind, yes. It is an ancient magic that not even Wizeman knows about." The old man sat on the fountain this time, right next to Nights who didn't even seem surprised by the fact that someone was there. "I'm close now, and should arrive sometime later today. Right now, however, I need to speak to you." 

"What did you do to them? Why are they all standing still?" 

"I haven't done anything to them, I've done something to us. We are between seconds for as long as I need us to be, so that we can speak privately." 

"And you are" 

"I am Weisheit, the one you have sought to tell you how to defeat Wizeman." The old man appeared this time as an old Nightmaren with a long white beard and bushy white eyebrows. He was wearing a green and black Nightmaren suit that made him appear a little frumpy and pudgy in the middle. Weisheit didn't seem to take notice of how he appeared and instead looked around the village at all of the Nightmaren who had stopped moving now. "You've come to love this place that they have etched out of the forest, haven't you." 

Nights nodded his head, sighing. "I have. All of these people around here have honest and open hearts, and they're Nightmaren like I am. This is the first time in a very long while that I've been able to talk with others of my kind and not felt like I've had to hold something back. With Reala, you always had to keep a piece of information to yourself, you didn't want him to know too much." 

"You want to stay here, forever?" 

"Yes, and no. I left Nightmare Tower so that I could get away from evil, I never really intended to fight it, personally I just wanted to have a little fun. Then Wizeman started trying to take over both worlds, and I knew that I was the only one who could stop him. It's the same this time, only I'm not alone anymore." 

"You are very wise, Nights. You are indeed not alone in this matter. You have help from three very lovely young ladies." Weisheit chuckled and turned his eyes to the frozen form of Claris, Umbrae and Pirdy. 

Nights laughed as he realized, truthfully for the first time, that he was the only man in the party. "You know, I don't think I really mind, honestly. They're a good bunch of people, and I wouldn't ask for any others to travel to the ends of this world with." 

"You're going to need them, Nights. You're also going to need one other, who even now is on his way to this very forest. Listen carefully to what I have to tell you, and you will know how to defeat Wizeman once and for all." 

Nights turned his full attention to Weisheit, tearing his eyes away from a frozen Umbrae who was in the middle of laughing. "How do I do it? I thought that I had defeated him for good last time, but he just came back after a while." 

"You can never truly kill the Lord of Nightmares. He is important to this world just as much as the Ancients are, or as this forest is. He controls the negative force that is a part of the balance that was set up a long time ago. Without this balance, there is no Dreamworld, only chaos. Too much good can be just as bad as too much evil." 

"How can too much good be bad? That doesn't make sense?"  


"Oh no? Too much good can cause the world to become stale and plain. It is evil that causes men and women to strive forward and advance their civilization. Evil begets change which good must counteract with new weapons and strategies all the time. Evil creates a disease, good creates a cure which helps propel life forward. Evil creates war, good creates tools and instruments which help end that war, which are then used in everyday life. This is only a small part of how important the balance is, but it is an important part." 

"Now the balance has tipped towards evil, and now Wizeman has gained too much power." 

Weisheit nodded his head, his eyes still roaming around the village. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, his beard fluttering around his mouth. "It has been this way for a long time, Nights, far longer than you realize. It is only now that Wizeman is making his true power known. The Ancients will destroy this world rather than let the two worlds unite into one, and even now they have begun the process. All of this will be gone, and all of us will perish." 

"Then tell me how to stop him. Tell me what I must do to bring this balance back." said Nights emphatically. He turned, bringing one leg up onto the fountain and looking at the old Nightmaren before him. 

"You're journey will be a hard one, but it is an accomplishable one." His eyes turned towards Nights, the bright blue showing that while Weisheit was old, his thoughts were crystal clear. "A long time ago, there was a crystal called the Master Ideya. It was given to the Ancients to create Dreamworld with, but there was only one crystal and five Ancients, all who squabbled to use it's powers to create their part of the Dreamworld. It was decided to shatter the crystal into five pieces, and give a piece to each Ancient. When the crystal was shattered, each of the five pieces had it's own color. These pieces were called the Mother Ideya and they each had immense power. They're called Mother Ideya because they gave birth to the Minor Ideya, which is what a Nightmaren possesses on their chest or cap or what not. The Minor Ideya is what Wizeman uses to give you the breath of life, a soul one would say. Such is the power of even the smallest piece of the Master Ideya. Do you follow me so far?" 

"I think so." He placed his hand on his own red Ideya and felt the coolness of the crystal. "Somewhere out there is the crystal that this came from, the source." 

"Yes, and it's the source of it's power. There are five of them out there, red, green, blue, yellow, and white. When all five mother stones are brought together, the Master Ideya is formed. That is your mission." 

Nights didn't speak for a long time, he simply stared around at the village and gathered his thoughts. What Weisheit was asking him to do was, indeed, difficult. He was pretty sure that the Ancients had placed the Mother Ideya in places specifically designed to keep things such as him out. He was also pretty sure that he wasn't going to be able to do this alone, especially with Reala and his people out there making all kinds of trouble. "How?" was all he could finally muster up to say. 

"When I arrive, I will present you with a map and the green Mother Ideya. You will be able to use both to locate the other four Ideya that are hidden out there. When all five are brought together, it will instantly form the Master Ideya, a crystal of incredible power with which you can use to steal back the power that is not Wizemans and return balance to Dreamworld. Wizeman has grown powerful, and a simple Mother Ideya will not be able to retrieve the power he keeps within himself." 

"I don't know if I'm capable of doing all of that." Nights looked about and saw that the people around him were beginning to move once more, slowly at first, but picking up speed. He turned to Weisheit and saw the old man fading. 

"My time is up, and I must depart." Weisheit held out his hand and dropped a necklace with a blue Ideya crystal on it. "When my guest arrives, his time will be short as well. Place this around his neck immediately, it is important." 

Nights nodded and took the necklace in his hand. "What is your guests name?" It was too late, however, Weisheit had already disappeared and the world around the Nightmaren had returned to its normal speed. He sighed and looked at the blue crystal in his hand, watching the spark inside seem to jump around. All around him the sound of the village life that he was starting to love so much resumed and he heard the footsteps approach. He looked up and saw a smiling Claris staring back at him. She sat down next to him, "What's the matter?" 

"Weisheit just told me what we have to do, and the task is immense. We're in for a long haul, my friend, our journey is just beginning." 

Claris continued to smile, "You look like you could use one of these." She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly to her. 

Nights smiled and hugged her back, staying that way for a while as he knew that they were going to have to step back into the river that was the world outside, and swim against the current. For a moment, a very brief moment in his best friends arms, he was in paradise. 


	10. Chapter Nine: So Long, and Good-bye.

Body Chapter Nine 

Joy and Pain 

It was a desire to get underway that caused Nights to let out a long breath. His thumb absently rubbed the blue jewel back and forth as his mind raced elsewhere. Safaia and Kumori had come to visit earlier in the day, and had told him of the furious battle raging outside of Soft Museum. Reala had started his vicious campaign against the place of knowledge and would not cease until he claimed it as his own. What had Nights even more worried, however, was why Reala was attacking that particular place. Soft Museum held no real strategic significance, and held nothing more than books and artifacts from Dreamworld's past. As the question continued to fester in Nights' mind, he looked down at the solemn village below, watching the children laugh and run through the paths between the homes. The quiet footsteps behind him caused him to wake up from both thoughts. "Hello, Umbrae. How are you this fine day?" Those eyes of hers were intoxicating, although Nights would never admit that. She still wore the black mask and outfit of the Night Terrors, but the eyes were no longer tinged with the hatred and evil that they once possessed. There were now two ruby red orbs in a sea of white and they always seemed to be staring straight back at him. 

"I'm wondering why you're not down in the village below, enjoying the day with the rest of us. It's warm and a little breezy, a perfect day to relax and talk." 

Nights sighed and looked back down below, shaking his head as his eyes caught the children once more. "I want Weisheit to get here, he is the only one right now that my mind will let me talk to. I'm afraid I'd be poor company to everyone else." 

She came up and stood right next to him, her eyes catching the children as well and watching them just as Nights did. "Claris went off into the forest to teach herself how to control that magic of hers, she's probably getting herself in quite a bit of trouble even as we speak." 

"She'll be fine. Pirdy is watching over her in case anything serious happens. In the meantime, it's best that she's out of the village and practicing elsewhere. Who knows what kind of accidents she could cause to these people." Nights began to notice that she was standing very close to him, almost touching shoulders as she leaned against the railing. 

"I suggested she try to use her magic to teach herself how to fly. You can't have her on your back the entire time we're travelling. That'll just wear you out." Her voice was much quieter now; the kind of voice one uses at sunset when you didn't want to disturb the quiet beauty around you. 

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." He sighed once more, watching the bright orange sun dip behind the treetops of Mystic Forest. "You know, Umbrae, now that you have new eyes and all, I think we need to take the next step and get you a new Nightmaren suit to match. The black just doesn't suit you anymore." 

"I like the black, it's very slimming. Besides the fact, I have no idea what I'd change to." She took off her floppy hat and shook out her long, curly silver hair. It fell all the way to her waist, and Nights caught himself staring in awe. She turned her eyes to him and blinked, "What? Something wrong? I have something in my hair?" 

"Nno. Nothing is wrong with it at all. I just didn't know it was solovely." He cleared his throat, tearing his eyes away and trying to hide the blush that burned his cheeks. "I mean, I thought it would suit you to have a new outfit is all. We could take off that mask as well, I wouldn't think you'd need that anymore either." 

Umbrae placed a hand on the side of her mask, her eyes suddenly looking sad as she stroked the delicate cloth. "No, this stays on. I don't mind changing color, but the costume has to have a mask. I don't want to show my face." 

Nights just stared for a moment, his imagination running loose on what could possibly want to make this beautiful Nightmaren want to cover her face. "Come on, let's go down to the village. There's a tailor who used to make uniforms for the army. Let's see if we can find you something with a little more color in it. I think you'll find that a costume with a little color will make all the difference in the world." He took Umbrae's hand and launched off the balcony, laughing as he dove down and pulled up at the last moment, the other Nightmaren in tow. 

Claris never thought that she would know the feeling of flight. She zipped around the tree branches and above the sun dappled ground, all the while laughing merrily as though she didn't have a care in the world. It had been the easiest bit of magic that she had pulled off yet, and one of the things that she had always wanted to do. Pirdy watched her from down below, laughing as well. "Come on Claris, you can't be up there all day. We need to get back to the village, it's starting to get dark." 

Claris landed on the ground, stumbling a little bit in her inexperience. "Alright, alright." She walked down the path looking up at the trees that swayed gently in the breeze. "Hey Pirdy, can I ask you a question?" 

"Sure." replied Pirdy. 

"Have you, I don't know, had a weird dream lately? About a little old man with a long white beard?" 

"Sure, I had one last night. Come to think about it, I had one the night before too. He was an older man, with a long white beard, but that's all I saw of him. Well, his head and two hands as well. The rest of him was like a bright ball of light, just bouncing all over the place." 

Claris looked at Pirdy, her eyes going a little wider. "Two nights? What did he say to you?" 

Pirdy thought for a moment, and then shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing, really, we just ended up playing a lot. I think the deepest discussion we had was what color blue the ocean is. Other than that, and telling me he's going to be here soon, we just ended up having a lot of fun together." 

"Nothing else? Nothing profound or deep, he just came both nights to play with you?" 

"Nope, nothing else. Who wants anything else? I mean, what we're doing now is complicated enough, why would I want something deep and profound to add even more stress? Nah, I just wanted to have fun. It's not everyday you get to play jacks with a sage." 

Claris couldn't argue with that point. She decided to follow the advice, "I'll race you back to the village, bet I beat you." With that she started running as fast as she could. Pirdy smiled and started chasing after, flying every so often to catch up. 

As the party sat down to eat that night, Claris told them about her first flight and how magnificent it was. The others questioned her, happily asking if she had done loops or barrel rolls to which Claris would reply with a resounding yes, and then go into detail about how it made her feel. Eventually the conversation turned towards Umbrae and her new costume. While she had kept the basic black, she had added dark blue and green diamonds all around her torso and wrists. Her black mask remained, and the forehead portion of her headdress was still black as well. The floppies, however, were the same dark blue and green as the diamonds. Her Ideya jewel stood out brightly once more on her chest, and it seemed to sparkle a little brighter now that the extra color had been added. Umbrae seemed satisfied with the dark colors, allowing her to retain the shadowy image she had become used to, but to also set herself apart from the Night Terrors, which she agreed she was no longer a part of. 

The evening seemed to pass along quite nicely as dinner turned into dessert and eventually turned into sitting by the fire and playing a game that Claris had learned a long time ago. Deep down inside Nights knew that this would be the last quiet evening they would be sharing for a long time to come. He didn't want to tell the others, didn't want to tell them that they wouldn't be safe as soon as they left the comfort of the forest. Nights had exaggerated to Umbrae when he told her that new colors would make her feel different. He knew that they would meet up with the Night Terrors again, and he didn't want to get her mixed up with them when the time came. She had become angry with him when he pressed about the facemask, once again believing that she would look better without it. She had only turned away and refused to speak of it once again, telling Nights to do the same. 

Nights and the others had become so lost in thought or conversation, that none of them heard the birds and other animals stop making noise in the forest. They didn't notice the bright ball of light that seemed to be wafting through the streets, passing by other Nightmaren who only knelt or bowed their heads reverently. The light whisked through the area, bouncing about a bit as children ran after it, laughing and trying to catch the elusive ball. A moment before it was caught, it whisked off once again, this time straight towards the house where the party was still speaking. It landed on the balcony and watched them for a while, bouncing a little when they laughed at some joke that Claris made. It wasn't long before the light was spotted, however, and Umbrae was the first to leap forward, daggers drawn, and feet spread in a defensive posture. The light stood stock still for a moment before bouncing forward once again and moving straight through the glass before landing on the floor at Umbrae's feet. In the next instant, it grew. Steadily it rose up, the light forming clothes and hands, then arms and shoulders. Finally a face appeared, old and weather beaten. The face was dark brown in color, and was hidden behind a long, bushy mustache and beard. Large eyebrows framed eyes of deep brown, eyes that seemed to take in everything in an instant. He stood a colossal seven feet tall, his large body and frame hidden underneath robes of flowing black. The edges of the robe were bordered in gold and all along the front where symbols in the same language that Nights had trouble reading in the book at Soft Museum. He held a large staff in his hands, reaching from his head to the floor. The tip held a circle that seemed to once support some kind of object, but which held nothing now. "I am Weisheit, I apologize for being late." His voice was a deep, rich baritone. 

The only thing Pirdy could squeak out was "No kidding." 

"No, I am not kidding." A warm smile formed on Weisheit's lips as he walked over to Pirdy. He knelt down to bring his face even with the Nightmaren. "I look a lot different, don't I? I told you I would." 

"Yeah, but I didn't think it was this big of a difference. Wow" 

Weisheit only laughed and stood up once more. He surveyed the room and then walked over to the table, making himself comfortable. The others eventually followed him over; taking their own seats and never letting their eyes leave the huge man. 

"Again, I apologize for being late. When dealing with the Ancients, one must sometimes go through laborious explanations in order to assure them that we are not further hindering this world they created. They have been most generous in allowing me to come out of the Temple in order to try and save this world. It took quite an argument, let me tell you." 

"They created this world, why are they so eager to destroy it?" asked Nights. "I mean, I would think they would be eager for you to try and save it." 

"The Ancients have apparently run into this problem before. They tried saving that world, and they only made the situation worse. It caused quite a panic in their realm, and in the end, the world had to be destroyed. I believe the Ancients would rather just eliminate the problem rather than try and fix it. If this problem becomes too much worse, Nights, they will destroy the Dreamworld, without hesitation. They have placed a lot of faith in you, my friend." 

"Wonderful." Nights stood up and walked towards the balcony once more, staring outside at the dark and starry sky. 

Umbrae stood up to follow and Weisheit raised his hand, holding her back. "No, he has a lot on his mind right now. Let's not disturb him." She hesitated for a moment and then sat back down at the table, looking at Weisheit with apprehension. 

Claris was looking at Nights as well, her voice quiet as she said, "I didn't realize that what we had to do meant so much. I'm sure that the Ancients weren't thrilled with your idea, having failed at it before." 

"No, they were not. They were ready to cast me out of the Temple because my arguments were so adamant. They have relented and have given me a small opportunity to make this succeed." He turned his deep eyes to the three ladies, "If Wizeman possesses even one of the Mother Ideyas, even one, the Ancients will destroy Dreamworld, taking everyone with it in the process. The Ancients will then be asked to leave forever, and be replaced with others who may be able to do the job better." 

"How many of them are there?" 

Weisheit only laughed, shaking his head. "There are some secrets that even I do not know. I have heard the Ancients speak, however, and I believe there are many of them." 

Pirdy looked around and then slapped her hands on the table, standing up and saying, "What are we waiting for then? Let's get going. We need to find the Mother Ideyas and get about defeating Wizeman." 

"Now, now Pirdy. We must wait for just a while more. Your party is not yet complete, I am waiting for two other members to arrive. In the meantime, let us have a little fun, shall we?" Weisheit took out a small bag and poured the jacks onto the table. "I must warn you, however, Pirdy is very good." 

Wizeman felt the shudder of the ground and the immense power that seemed to have suddenly come from nowhere. It was an incredible surge of magic that seemed to flow all around him, and it had the sweet taste of good in it. He grumbled under his breath and knew that the Ancients had started to make their move against him. 

It had only been a matter of time before they sent their emissary out to arm the forces of light, he just didn't know how it was going to be done. He also knew that they were all hiding deep within Mystic Forest, and they would never be found until they decided to come out. The Forest had been a constant thorn in his side, made worse by the sudden appearance of the Mystic Rangers. The Forest had once again devised a way to keep its secrets safe from prying eyes. It would always be impossible to get into there as long as the Ancients still watched over this world. His eyes turned towards a long, wide mirror hanging on the wall. He waved three hands over it and a scene from the attack on Soft Museum appeared before him. Reala was making a final push towards the doors and the Museum canons were once again trying to drive him back. This would be one of the final attacks, the Museum's defenses could not hold out much longer against such an onslaught. At least Reala still had one or two good uses left. 

Another hand waved itself across the screen and Mystic Forest appeared before him. He tried to make the scene move further into the trees, but it seemed to run into an almost invisible barrier. It wasn't able to go inside any further. A bright flash of light appeared from deep within the shadows and a bolt of lightning slammed into the image, causing it to go black. Wizeman's mirror was no longer able to look into Mystic Forest. This did not anger the wizard, it was simply the latest in a long line of protective defenses placed up to keep people exactly like him from prying too far where they were not wanted. 

A final wave of his hand turned off the mirror, and he moved away from its sight, heading back towards his private balcony. He took a deep breath of the night air, looking up towards the perpetual moon. "What do you have planned, Ancients? Why do you keep my sight out of Mystic Forest?" He took another deep breath and looked down at the camps below, "What do you know about Reala and Nights that you are not telling me?" 

He heard the laughter behind him and still had no desire to join in. They were playing a game and had decided to leave him alone for a while, a gesture that Nights was grateful for. The whole worlds outcome had been placed squarely on his shoulders, and he felt the weight. How had it all come to this? He was a simple Nightmaren, not one given to these long and tedious adventures. Defeating Wizeman last time had seemed such a simple thing, confrontation and that was it. Now, he was going to go on a long adventure, the likes of which he felt he was not prepared for in some way. Weisheit was right, there was still something missing to this whole thing. He sighed and looked into the blue jewel that he still held in his hands and shook his head, "What are you for my friend? What purpose do you have?" 

The sound of a Nightmaren flying brought him out of his revelry a few minutes later. He looked up into the sky and turned his head left and right trying to find the source. "Umbrae, come out here for a moment, won't you?" 

He was joined a second later by the Night Terror, who saw him looking up into the sky and turned her face up there as well. "What's going on?"  


"Do you hear that, it's the sound of a Nightmaren flying. Can you find whoever it is? I can't seem to pinpoint them." 

"Hold on a second, let me take a look." She started scanning the forest, her special eyes searching the trees while trying to avoid the massive heat signatures coming from the fires in the village below. Finally she spotted it and pointed right away. "There it is. A Nightmaren is flying through the forest, and it looks like there is something on its back." 

"Something on its back? What do you mean?" 

"It looks like the Nightmaren is carrying someone on its back. Probably a wounded Ranger or another Nightmaren from the village got lost in the forest. Might want to get Pirdy down there in any case." 

"Right." He turned back towards the game and said, "Pirdy, I think they're going to need you in the village, I think they're bringing in a wounded Ranger." 

"I'm expecting them, actually." The voice was Weisheit's and it caused Nights to blink. "They should be turning this way any moment now." 

"He's right, Nights." said Umbrae, "The Nightmaren is heading right for the house. Should we take up arms?" 

"No, hold up a moment. If Weisheit is expecting them, it might not be necessary. Besides, Claris has her magic, we'll be alright if something happens." He placed his hand on Umbrae's shoulder to lead her back inside. She moved a little closer to him so that his hand ended up on her back instead. This caused Nights to blink once more, and a slight blush crossed his face again. 

So they sat and waited for the Nightmaren to come. Weisheit went back to playing his game with Pirdy and Claris while Nights and Umbrae watched the balcony carefully. The darkness outside brought the voices first, "Watch out for that branch! You're going to hit the branch!" The voice was deep, a boy's voice for sure. Claris perked up in a moment, her eyes watching the balcony intently as her heart skipped a beat. 

"Have I hit a branch since I entered the forest? Stop being a backseat flier. Trust me, I know this forest like the back of my hand. Wait a minute, what's that?" This voice was definitely a woman's, and it sounded familiar as well. 

"That's not funny! Watch out!" 

"Stop being a sissy. We're alright now, there's the house." 

Nights and Claris stood up, their eyes not blinking as a figure in green and black landed on the balcony and dropped off her cargo. The blue-haired boy stood up and rubbed the back of his neck, looking inside the home. "Whose house is this?" 

"It's mine." she said. 

Claris walked forward, her eyes welling up in tears as she spied the boy. "Elliot?" 

"Claris? Is that Claris?" The boy ran inside, his eyes wide. Elliot had finally found her. "Claris..." 

Tears fell down her cheeks as she sniffed loudly. Her lower lip trembled slightly as she took another step forward, reaching out her hand to see if he was really there before her. He looked so handsome, and his smile was wide as his eyes sparkled in the lamplight. 

"No! Don't touch him." Weisheit stood up quickly. "If you touch him, he'll instantly disappear and wake up in the real world." 

Her hand hovered there for a moment, her fingers inches away from his face. Her desire to touch him, to kiss him and hug him was overwhelming. She clenched her fingers into fists and turned to Weisheit, "You mean he's finally here and I can never even hold him?" 

Weisheit walked over, a warm smile on his face. "Nay child, you'll be able to hold him." He turned to Nights and pointed to the jewel, "Put that around his neck." Nights nodded his head and walked over, a wide grin on his face as he looped the jewel necklace around Elliot. The jewel tapped the boys chest and immediately started glowing. Somewhere off in the distance a gong sounded, low but powerful as it rang across the landscape. Weisheit nodded his head and turned to Claris, "It's alright now." 

That was all the incentive Claris needed. She immediately wrapped her arms around Elliot, embracing him tightly and allowing her tears to flow freely. "Where have you been? I missed you so much." 

Elliot folded his arms gently around her, bringing his head close to hers. His words were only whispers, "I missed you too, and I'm never going to leave you again." They stayed that way far into the night. 

The sound of the gong did not escape the notice of Wizeman. The taint in the air was even stronger now, and he realized that his enemies had all been brought together. His hope of finding Nights and the others was vanquished now, he would have to move on and devise some other way to stop them. He waved his hand in front of the mirror once more and spied Reala, his troops moving into the Soft Museum even now. That part of the battle was over, and his army had won. There would be no Nightopians walking out as slaves in this one. They would all resist to the end of their lives to protect the precious books inside. 

Reala had not noticed the sound of the gong over the noise of the canons or the cheers of his soldiers. He had finally taken the museum, and it had been a fierce fight. He wiped his forehead as he walked into the library portion of the museum and looked about. He had not been here in a long time and was happy to see that very little had changed anywhere. The books were still stacked all the way up to the ceiling, and the artifacts from the history of Dreamworld were secured under their cases. The ground gave way under his feet as he moved deeper into the quiet halls. His troops moved quickly through the entire area, sweeping everything to find the hidden Archivists. So far they had not caught a single one, but Reala knew that would not last long. He was sure they had a hidden room somewhere, a place to lay low in case something like an invasion occurred. Being so close to the Nightmare Zone would warrant such a precaution, Reala just had to locate it, and that would be the tough part. He turned to one of his lieutenants, "We'll start in the first room and move back. See if the soldiers can locate anything that might be a switch. Tip every book, twist and move every statue. It's got to be somewhere." 

Jackal was not privvy to hear the magical gong, being only a Demi-maren, his magic was not powerful enough. He wandered the streets of the destroyed village, stepping over or on the bodies of dead Nightopians as the mood suited him. He took a deep whiff of the air and savored the smell of ash and smoke that came with the fires on the other end of town. He continued to walk through the streets and came to the path that lead out of town towards the west, and that's where he spied the footprints. They were large, and they left an unusual pattern of circles and lines. In one area, he noticed an unusual swoosh mark, something he thought to be a signature, but not one he recognized. He decided it might be worth investigating and started following them towards the hills of Spring Valley. 

Clawz didn't hear the gong either, but he kept following the fast-moving Night Terrors as they flew off towards another village in Stick Canyon. It was harder to stick to the shadows here, but they had not noticed him yet. Why Reala was not using his best infilitration troops at Soft Museum had been a curiousity for the Catmaren and so he had decided it best to follow these dark clothed figures and see what they were up to. 

Nights watched his two friends speak quietly with one another as they walked through the village hand-in-hand. A large grin was spread across his face as he realized that the part he was missing had been returned. Elliot had been one of the keys to the defeat of Wizeman, and he would be the key once more. In what way was still a mystery to Nights, as Elliot would often be away in the Real World. Weisheit had explained that the blue jewel would allow Elliot to return directly to Claris, no matter where they were. The jewel would allow him to fly as Nightmaren do, and finally protect him against Claris' magic, which acted as an Alarm Guardian and would instantly cause him to wake up. 

"One other thing, Nights. I want you to take Iona along with you." 

"Why? Our team is rather large as it is, right now. If I add on one more, it's only going to make us that much more conspicuous." 

"It's important. Iona has a telepathic link directly with me. She'll be able to contact me when necessary so I can help whenever I can." 

"Wait a minute, you're not going with us?" asked Nights. He look truly startled and made to stand and protest even before Weisheit could answer. 

"I cannot leave Mystic Forest, I am forbidden to do so by the Ancients." 

"Well then you need to talk to them. We need you out there, you and your knowledge." 

"Nights, I serve the Ancients directly. The forest is the limit of their defense zone. If I were to leave, I would not survive for very long. Iona will be able to contact me directly, everything will be fine." 

Nights sighed and sat down again, looking troubled once more. "Wonderful. So how am I supposed to find these jewels? I have no idea where to even begin looking." 

Weisheit produced a green ideya jewel. It was smaller than the jewel that he wore on his chest, but it was very long and narrow. It glowed brighter than any other Ideya that he had seen before and there seemed to be some kind of energy moving inside of the jewel, back and forth from one side to another. "This," said Weisheit, "is a Mother Ideya. It is what created all the Minor Ideya out there in Dreamworld. While its size might not be all that much, it is what is on the inside that is important." A moment later he pulled out a rectangular piece of cloth and laid it on the ground. On it was the whole of Dreamland drawn in intricate detail. Weisheit put the green jewel over the portion of the map that represented Mystic Forest and waited. 

It was only a moment before the jewel leaped up and started dragging itself across the map. It seemed lost for a second, before it turned towards the top of the map and stopped on a large white portion with no name. Nights sighed and knew why the area didn't have a name on the map, nobody was stupid enough to travel there if they could help it. Weisheit nodded his head slowly as he read Nights thoughts. "Yes, Arctic Bell. I figured that would be where the white jewel would be located." 

Nights sat back and looked at the jewel, standing upright on the spot where the next jewel was located. "I traveled through Arctic Bell, I remember it as being a cold and uncaring place. The beasts up there dig these sliding trenches to allow them to get to the ocean where the fish are, I got caught up in one or two of those. That's not what I'm afraid of though." 

Weisheit looked at Nights who was staring at the map. He turned and picked up the green jewel and the map, placing them in a round container. "What is it that you are afraid of?" 

"On our last adventure, I fought and defeated Gillwing. He's this half-fish, half-dragon, and all too bigthing that could eat me in one bite. Well, Wizeman sent him up north to guard his northern border against any kind of invasion. As far as I know, he's still up there and still furious." 

"You defeated him once, I have faith that you can do it again." 

"Easy for you to say, you're not going to be the one to have to look straight down his mouth with all of those sharp, pointy teeth staring back at you." 

Weisheit walked over to the balcony, stepping outside and waving Nights over. The Nightmaren stood next to him and the old man pointed down to the village with one hand. "Nights, look down there." Nights peered over the edge of the railing and saw the peaceful village below. There was Umbrae and Pirdy running away from a group of kids, laughing the entire time. Iona was talking quietly with Safaia and Kumori, pointing in various directions of the forest as she did so. Most importantly, however, Nights saw Elliot and Claris, walking hand in hand through the square. Again the Nightmaren was reminded how perfect this place seemed to be. Weisheit spoke quietly, "All of Dreamworld used to be like this. Although there were no Nightmaren, there was a peace and serenity to this world that seemed to belie imagination. Nightopians would do what they were supposed to do and the entire time they would be at peace. You, Nights, you and your friends have an opportunity to return the world to its truthful nature." 

Nights only nodded his head, sighing once more as he tore his eyes away from Claris and Elliot. "I want to thank you for bringing them together. Claris will be able to focus a little more now that she knows that Elliot is safe." 

"It gets better than that, Nights. That blue jewel he wears will always allow him to appear next to you when he enters Dreamworld. This way he won't always wake up in Spring Valley and have to catch up to you. Likewise, with the jewel he'll be able to fly. Elliot will play a pivotal role, I can feel it underneath my skin. It's best to give you the tools which will allow both of you to benefit from this future event." Weisheit looked up into the sky and nodded his head, "It's time for me to go. It's also time for you to go as well. Arctic Bell awaits you with it's arms open and breath freezing." 

Nights stood straight up and turned to Weisheit, holding out his delicate hand. "Thank you, for all of your help. I appreciate everything you've told us." 

Weisheit shook the hand firmly, nodding his head once. "Have faith in your team, Nights, but most of all have faith in yourself. Stay the course, and don't let anything deter you from the final prize. If you succeed, you will have your peace and quiet for as long as you want. If you fail, this world will be plunged into nothingness, and the Ancients will remold it anew. In the process, thousands of Nightopians, Nightmaren, and animals will perish." The old man walked to the door and stepped out into thin air, turning back and looking at the Nightmaren with a warm smile on his face. "Good luck, my friend. I daresay that you'll need it." He chuckled and vanished from sight. 

Nights stepped off the balcony himself and looked at Mystic Forest one more time. The sunlight was spilling through the branches of the trees and spotting up the ground. A calm wind blew through the village and caused the flowers and grass to bend slightly. The quiet hushing sound that it made caused Nights to close his eyes and take a deep breath. The smell of the pine and pollen filled his lungs and he savored it. It was clean, it was pure, and it was something he wouldn't know for a long time. He was flying back out into the real world, a world now controlled by evil. With the taking of Soft Museum, only Mystic Forest stood in Wizeman's path for complete Dreamland domination. Nights opened his eyes and waved his hand, giving a shrill whistle into the air. Umbrae and Pirdy launched off the ground and flew to where Nights stood. A moment later, Claris and Elliot strode down the path with Iona hovering behind them. 

A Nightmaren nearby would be the last to see them leave the small village of Egoda. He saw the group come together and speak quietly with one another. After a brief moment, there was a nod of heads and then Nights lifted off the ground, followed closely by Pirdy and Claris. Elliot and Iona took up flanking positions on either side. Elliot only vanished into thin air, although the blue gem around his neck automatically went to Claris' hand, a gem she held onto with for dear life. The group headed north into the forest, leaving behind the tranquility that each had benefited from in some way. Umbrae had gained her sight and a new group of friends, and new sense of purpose. Pirdy had gained the self-confidence that comes with people truly needing you and loving you for who you were. Claris had gained the love of her life back, and an understanding of that which had made a home inside of her. Iona, well, she had gained very little other than a chance to redeem her own soul. Deep inside she believed that she would never have a clean spirit, the things she had done in her previous life with Reala had not been pleasant. The children of the village ran behind them, and the Nightmaren who was watching them only stood up and saluted. "Good luck, and come back soon." The shadows of Mystic Forest swallowed them up, and they disappeared into the darkness. 


	11. Chapter Ten: Bells, Gills, and Terror

Chapter 10  
  
Bells, Gills, and Terror  
  
Arctic bell was everything that Claris remembered. A white, barren and desolate land that was populated by only a few Shleep whose wool looked more coarse than their cousins to the south. It was quiet, save for the sounds of the cold wind blowing around their ears. Claris' hair flowed behind her like a flowing river of red and she took a deep breath of the crisp air. She had seen snow only a few times in her life. Her fondest memory was making snow angels and having a snowball fight with her father, that was right before he passed away. The other time was when the lake in Twin Seeds Park froze over, and she went ice skating with Elliot. At the thought of the young man, her hands grasped the blue crystal hanging around her neck, and it's warmth seeped into her hands.  
  
"Claris, put your floppies on, you lose most of the heat from your body through the top of your head." It was Umbrae's voice that broke into her memory and caused her to wake up to the bleak landscape once more. "Claris? Are you alright?"  
  
"I'm fine. Just, remembering a better time." Claris smiled sadly to Umbrae and took the floppy out of the Nightmaren suit that snuggled close to her body. She tucked her hair up into the unusual hat, turning her eyes to Nights who was surveying the landscape from on top of a large black boulder that had managed to break through the ice. "Well?"  
  
"I don't see anything out there at all. Doesn't mean Gilwing isn't out there somewhere, waiting to pounce. Anyone else see anything?"  
  
Iona shook her head, turning around in a full circle. It appeared that the cold wasn't affecting her at all. She looked as though she were walking through Mystic Forest, she wasn't shivering or chattering one bit. "I don't see a thing, and in all this white, you could notice something as colorful as Gilwing from miles away."  
  
Pirdy, likewise, wasn't feeling a thing. Her time spent in the perpetual night that was the Nightmare Zone had prepared her for the cold that she was feeling now. "I don't see anything."  
  
Umbrae flew up to the top of the large boulder and took a look around her. "I don't spot anything with infrared. He's hidden well or he doesn't know we're here yet. In either case, we should move on. Staying in one spot will surely let him know where we are."  
  
Nights nodded his head and flew down to the others, taking the green Mother Ideya out of his suit, along with an ancient brown leather map. He placed the tip of the long green jewel on the region of the map that marked Arctic Bell. It slowly dragged itself atop the leather and stopped at a point not far from their location. "It looks like we have to go north. Now, I know there is a mountain range to the north, filled with ice caves and snow valleys. Most likely the Mother Ideya will be hidden there."  
  
"Along with Gilwing." piped up Umbrae. "That would be a perfect spot for him to hide."  
  
"I don't think so. His job is to protect the northern border to the Nightmare Zone. He's most likely far to the west of us, at least that's what I'm hoping. Keep on your toes, everyone, it only gets more dangerous from here." He put the map away and looked up to the sky. Finding the sun, he pointed north and leapt into the air, flying off. Umbrae took off after him, followed by Pirdy and Claris, and finally Iona taking up the rear.  
  
-~~-  
  
Jackal flew close to the ground of Spring Valley, careful to avoid being spotted by the Nightmaren patrols that constantly dotted the area. He continued to track the footprints as far as they could go, until they finally ended on top of a hill with a large tree. He landed and looked at the ground carefully. It appeared as though the footprints just appeared out of nowhere. There was no other trail for him to follow in any direction other than the way he had come. He stood up, walking underneath the tree and looking off into the distance. His thoughts were a whirlwind, trying to explain how this trail ended. At that moment an Alarm Guardian flew overhead, its alarm bell silent for a moment until it spotted a ghostly image in the distance. The alarm suddenly sprang to life, it's ringing fading as it headed towards the figure in the distance. Suddenly a spotlight appeared from underneath the Alarm Guardian and touched the ghostly image, causing it to suddenly disappear from view. Jackal blinked hard, realizing he had just witnessed a dreamer being woken up.  
  
His mind snapped, eyes going wide as he slowly turned. He walked over to the spot where the trail ended and he knelt down once more. He had found an entry point, this was where a dreamer entered the Dream World from their own world. His mind was once more thinking, remembering his history. What else was significant about Spring Valley? It was where Nights had started his campaign against Wizeman, and it was where Nights chose to live. It was also where the Lord of Dreams had his own tower. Jackal stood up quickly, this was where Nights had started his campaign, and this was where he met Elliot and Claris. Revelation hit his face, and he looked down once more, he had possibly found the entry point where the allies of his hated enemy…entered Dream World. Those thoughts suddenly turned dark, and vengeance once again entered his mind.  
  
-~~-  
  
Reala was getting bored already. Looking for the Nightopians had proven to be harder than he had first anticipated and it was starting to show. His soldiers and officers would often find him ripping down whole sections of the library, kicking books left and right, shouting at the walls to open and reveal the secret hiding space of the Archivists. After one particularly loud ranting session, Reala looked up and his eyes peered down the long hallway, still stacked neatly with all manner of books. Finding the secret spot would take months, if not years. He sat down on one of the couches nearby, continuing to stare down the corridor, concentrating on what to do next and trying to relax his frayed nerves. Soon he would be asked for a progress report from Wizeman, and he would be able to provide no clues as to where the Archivists were hiding. It would be a sign of weakness were he to fail at such a simple task, and yet he could not provide a shred of proof that he had succeeded.  
  
Wizeman watched Soft Museum from his mirror, unable to see anything inside, but able to watch the army mill about outside. He narrowed his eyes when he couldn't spy Reala, knowing that the General was still inside, possibly destroying the riches that the books possessed. He heaved a great sigh, "Clawz, to me."  
  
The black Cat-Maren leapt into the room, bowing his head as he waited for his orders. "I am here, master. Tell me what it is you desire of me."  
  
"I want you to go to Idia. In the ruins of the city you will find an entrance to an underground chamber which is large and circular. Inside this chamber is a sword imbedded into an anvil. The sword is made of a light blue metal, and I want you to retrieve it for me as soon as you can."  
  
"Your skills are already immense, my master, for what reason would you need something so unwieldy as a sword?"  
  
"That is none of your concern, Clawz, simply retrieve the sword for me please and take care not to get it wet." His voice did not rise up out of anger, it was a soft rebuttle for prying his nose into something that wasn't his concern. The flattery didn't hurt either.  
  
"Yes, master, I will leave at once." His quite paws carried him out of the chambers. A moment later, as Wizeman looked down from his balcony, he saw the powerful strides of the Cat-maren whisk Clawz off into the forest, and the dark shadows swallowed him up.  
  
If Wizeman had watched a moment more, he may have spotted the five black shapes that seemed to melt into the shadows themselves. They followed the fast Cat-maren through the forest, their red eyes only a blur in as they slipped inbetween the trees like a snake.  
  
-~~-  
  
Nights was growing more and more tense as they neared the mountain range. His eyes were constantly scanning the horizon, and his head never seemed to stop moving back and forth. Claris nor Pirdy seemed to notice anything, but Umbrae could clearly see muscles tensing up and releasing everytime a Shleep burst out of hiding at the sound of the Nightmaren closing. She had never met Gilwing but had heard that he was a tremendous beast, with a gaping maw filled with teeth as sharp as daggers. The question of how Nights had survived the first battle still rang in the back of her mind, and no matter how hard she tried to usher it away, it always came back to ask again.  
  
"That's the Bell Mountain Range up ahead. There are a number of caves that dot the entire area, and I don't know which one the Mother Ideya is hiding in." The sound of Night's voice brought Umbrae out of her revelrie and she blinked her eyes as she realized that they were now very close to the tall peaks. As they began their descent, she looked behind and saw Claris and Pirdy flying close to one another, with Iona taking up a rear position and constantly looking behind her shoulder to make sure they weren't being followed.  
  
They touched down between some trees, a small clearing filled with the tall green grass still peaking out from the snow. Even from here, the group could see the many caves that dotted the mountains all around them. "There are so many." breathed Pirdy. "How are we going to know which one to go to, we could spend three lifetimes just searching around here and the mountain range extends for miles to the east and west."  
  
Nights turned to Iona, his voice quiet. "Contact Wizeman, seek his advice on this matter." Iona nodded her head and stood apart from the group. She closed her eyes and turned towards the direction they had just come. The others only watched, their breath frosting up in front of their faces as the wind whipped about them once more.  
  
Iona's eyes opened, the green in her eyes appearing to be covered with a milky white substance. Her voice was deep as the words came, "Nights, it's Wizeman. Listen to me carefully, take the green Mother Ideya in your hand and hold it out in front of you. It will guide you like a compass towards its sister. The green jewel is your guide, trust it and it will never lead you astray. I hope you are all in good health, take care." Just as suddenly the voice was gone, and the milky substance in Iona's eyes melted away. She only blinked once or twice and then looked at the others as though this were a normal thing.  
  
The group looked at Iona for a moment, afraid that she would go into the strange trance once more. Claris cleared her throat and quietly spoke, "Nights, you heard him, the jewel is the guide. Hold it in your hand and see what it does." The Nightmaren took out the jewel, placing it in his palm and looking at it. The Green jewel was quiet for a moment, and just as Nights was about ready to put it away, a deep glow issued from inside and spread itself through the entire jewel. It started spinning in his palm, stopping almost instantaneously as it's tip pointed off to the west and the other to the east. The green glow then went to the top pointing west and the glow became brighter. "I guess it's to the west.", was all Nights could say. The others nodded their heads in agreement and took off, keeping low to the ground and heading in the direction the jewel pointed them in.  
  
Dozens of caves went past the Nightmaren, some so small as to be almost invisible. If it were not for the well-trained eyes of Iona, they would never have spotted all of them. "I'm used to it, there are hundreds of burrows, all through Mystic Forest. When you hunt Remmits, you have to know where their burrows are."  
  
Claris looked at Nights, a question in her raised eyebrow. Nights smiled, "Think of Remmits as something like your rabbits. Small creatures that are good to eat and burrow in the ground. They practically look the same as your rabbits, only they have black and yellow fur and are a bit more ferocious." Claris nodded her head and made a noise that sounded as though she understood what he was talking about.  
  
-~~-  
  
It was the voices, the voices that echoed through his chamber that stirred him from his sleep. They reverberated all around the walls, the voices did. One was light and flowery, a womans' voice to be sure. The other, however, was all too familiar. It was deep, but had that same cocky tone that was there before. The self-confidence that seemed to exude from every breath.  
  
The massive creature stirred in the darkness of his cave. His massive body began to writhe on top of itself, it's eyes hungry to see what his mind was already telling him was there. It's eyes opened, the tiny specks of light that dotted its cave were reflected in those massive eyes. A deep, rumbling voice issued from a throat almost the size of the cave itself. "Nights…"  
  
The figure writhed even more now, waking up its sleeping muscles and lifting itself off the ground. There would be no error this time, there would be no weakness for him to expose. He would have the Nightmaren as a snack, and he would once again be one of the most cherished in Wizeman's dark stable. Gilwing had woken up.  
  
-~~-  
  
The jewel continued to point the party ever west, the mountains and hills rising up and down before them. Every so often the would spy creatures using a half-tube to slide down the mountain towards the fish rich lakes lying in the valley below. They did not have time to watch for long, the green Mother Ideya seemed to pull at Nights, eager to find its sister lost in the caves. Nights was eager to follow, wanting to get out of Arcitic Bell as soon as possible. In the back of his mind he knew that Gilwing was aware of their presence. His eyes and his ears, however, could not confirm this suspicion. It was the gut instinct that kept him distressed. He kept the two warriors, Umbrae and Iona, on either side of the group. Pirdy and Claris flew in the middle, and Nights continued to fly up front, taking the brunt of the wind himself. It had begun to grow dark, and that meant the temperature would be falling quickly. If they didn't find this cave where the Ideya was hiding soon, they were going to have to settle down in another cave and wait out the night. He turned his head towards Claris and spotted her shivering already, her arms wrapped around herself to try and keep warm. Iona continued to be unaffected by anything, but Pirdy and Umbrae were starting to show signs of getting cold as well. Still the jewel led them on.  
  
"That's it, we're going to have to settle in for the night." he shouted above the wind. "This is no good, we're all starting to freeze and we won't be able to see the caves anymore anyway. Iona, is there a cave large enough to hold all of us?"  
  
The Ranger nodded her head and pointed down at the mountain, "There's one there that.."  
  
"Nights! Look!" Pirdy pointed to the jewel which had started to grow brighter. Suddenly it leapt off of his hand and took a nose dive down towards the earth. Nights' eyes went wide and he immediately dived down after it, twisting into a drill attack to try and gain some speed. The others followed, but could not match the speed of either the Ideya or Nights. The Nightmaren extended his hand out, willing himself to go faster, the jewel just out of reach of his fingertips. Suddenly the land was upon him and he twisted himself, barely scraping the earth and leaving a wake of dirt behind him. The jewel had hit the ground, hard. Umbrae could clearly see the green glow, embedded halfway into the ground. She landed next to it, Claris and Pirdy landing close-by, along with Iona. Nights landed soon after, taking in large breaths as he fell to the earth on his butt, his eyes never leaving the Mother Ideya. "What happened?", he asked, gasping in between words.  
  
"It would appear that we have reached the point where we have to go down. There might be a cave nearby that would help us reach underneath where this jewel is. It's either that or we dig for weeks."  
  
"I'm up for the caves." piped up Claris and Pirdy rather quickly.  
  
Nights only chuckled and nodded his head as well, "I'm up for spelunking myself. I'd really rather not be here for weeks. Did you.." he was interrupted as the ground shook violently. He stood up quickly as though he were afraid the earth was going to swallow him whole. Just as quickly as the rumbling had started, it was gone. "What was that?"  
  
"It might have been an avalanche nearby. We might have only gotten the aftershocks." said Iona. The ground shook again, however, and then again. "That's not an avalanche. It almost feels as though someone is trying to break through underneath us."  
  
Nights' eyes went wide with fear and shock. Just as he realized what it was, Gilwing burst out of the ground with a roar that shook the mountains around them. He had grown since their last meeting. He was now twice the size that Nights remembered. His mouth was still huge, however, and still held row after row of razor sharp teeth. It roared once more and then it was silent, except for the heavy breathing of an exceptionally large monster. Its eyes were focused on Nights, and Nights alone. "It's been a long time, Nights. It is pleasant to see you again." His voice was low, rumbling, sarcastic in its tone.  
  
"The pleasure is all yours, I'm sure. Let us pass, Gilwing, we have no reason to fight, and I have no desire to smack you around like a little guppy all over again."  
  
There was a chuckle that sent the hairs on Pirdy's neck straight up. She had taken up position firmly behind Umbrae, peering over her shoulder with eyes filled with fear. "Nights, I shall enjoy eating you, and then eating each of your friends in turn." Gilwing roared once more and then dove down on the party. In a hair's breath, Nights had drawn his sword and was racing up at the large dragon-fish with his own roar. The sword lept to life with its inner fire and it gave Nights' face a fierce red glow. Iona raised her hand, an intense look coming across her face. She pointed her fingers at Gilwing spreading them slightly and bracing herself for the large gust of wind that followed. It blew all around her, gathering up dust before rising up into the air to sting the eyes of the large fish. Gilwing roared, but didn't stop charging. A black form streaked past Iona, Umbrae rising up to help Nights take on the monster. Claris and Pirdy landed on the ground and dove for cover as Nights raised up his sword and slashed out at Gilwing who was a foot away from him. It only hit air, Gilwing had dove down and underneath the Nightmaren. His speed had increased since their last fight, the dragon-fish had been preparing for this moment for over a year now. He rose straight up, his mouth opening wide and set to engulf Nights whole. A flash of silver caught his eyesight and he quickly turned, narrowly avoiding a well placed sai that was aimed for his eye. He turned and noticed the other Nightmaren close by, a mask covering her face. He curled up and rerouted himself, now speeding quickly towards Umbrae. He opened his mouth, sucking in air and creating a vacuum that started to bring Umbrae towards him.  
  
She had not been expecting this. Umbrae felt herself drifting towards him, her speed increasing. She turned, clawing at the air as she tried to build up speed to get away. The giant mouth loomed closer and closer by the minute as Gilwing continued to speed forward and suck in the air around him at the same time. She could feel him behind her now, the sound of the air being drawn into his throat almost deafening in her ears. She continued to fly forward, twisting herself into a Drill Attack to try and gain more and more speed, but it was no use, he continued to close. Then a new sound deafened her, the terrible sound of someone screaming in pain. The air around her was no longer drawing her back, instead it was pushing her away now. She turned in mid-air, and she spied Nights, sword in hand and hovering near a freshly chopped off piece of tail. Gilwing turned, pain inciting him into a berserker rage as he bolted after his enemy. Umbrae had been forgotten and she landed on the ground, breathing heavily. The attack had taken a bit out of her, expending energy beyond what she was ready for.  
  
Nights twisted and turned in the air, zooming in and out of the trees as though they weren't even there. Behind him he could hear the sounds of Gilwing bashing his way through the trees to follow. Nights realized that he was quickly losing ground. Gilwing wasn't having to go around everything like he was. He looked about to his left and right, not able to find an easy escape route. He started up, spinning and twisting as he did so, and coming around to face Gilwing. He slashed out with his sword once more, but the dragon-fish had twisted up even higher and the sword missed his belly by inches.  
  
Claris ran out from underneath the trees, looking up at the fight that was raging above. Nights had swooped down once more to tree level, hoping to lose himself among the trees, but Gilwing was not fooled, his eyes had caught him quickly and he was already diving down. Iona continued to hover off to the side, watching the fight as well. She brought both hands up from her sides, quickly extending them upwards. From the forest, hundreds of shark pine needles rose up into the air, straight at Gilwings face. The attack didn't seem to phase him in the least, however, and he continued to fly straight after Nights.  
  
"It's no use, Iona!" Umbrae stood up, taking a few final gasps of air. "He has a clear scale that covers his eyes, the pine needles can't get through. You need something stronger."  
  
"There's not a whole lot for me to work with here. There are no vines on the trees to snare him with, and the branches from the pine trees are just too week to do any real damage."  
  
Claris listened, watching as Gilwing got closer and closer to Nights. The dragon-fish opened it's great mouth again, a loud laugh escaping for a moment before he started sucking in the air once more. Nights was caught in the vacuum and turned, watching as the mouth full of teeth started getting closer and closer at a rate he wasn't comfortable with. He brought his sword forward, but he didn't know where to slash. The mouth was so large that he wasn't going to be able to hit anything if he went straight down the middle. Claris looked with horror in her eyes and turned to Pirdy, "I'm going to go help!" She ran out of the hiding spot, Pirdy shouting something incomprehensible behind her.  
  
Claris knew she had to do something. She ran towards the fight, not fully sure what she was going to do, but knowing she had to help. She could hear Iona and Umbrae shouting after her and knew she had only a few moment before they caught up with her to drag her back. She looked all around her, not knowing what to do or how to help, her heart pounding in her chest. Nights was coming closer and closer to Gilwing, bolts of flame leaping out but doing nothing to the dragon-fish. Her eyes then caught something. It was large, almost three times her size. She ran towards it and saw a giant boulder before her. The magic that lived within her leapt to life, her imagination taking control. Her eyes flashed with energy and she stopped almost on a dime. She pointed both hands at the boulder, words coming from under her breath, ancient and unintelligible. Iona and Umbrae had finally caught up, landing on either side of Claris and watching in amazement as the boulder left the ground. Claris gritted her teeth, the size and weight of the rock almost more than she could handle. She turned and pointed the rock at Gilwing and with a shout of triumph, she sent it hurtling towards the large dragon-fish.  
  
Nights was coming close, his eyes narrowing as he spotted the roof of the mouth. He knew that in a last ditch effort, he would have to drive the sword into the brain, but that he would most likely be impaled himself on one of the many teeth. He steeled himself for destiny when he spied something large and brown heading his way. He blinked in amazement as the boulder slammed head on into the side of Gilwing and sent him flying into the side of the mountain.  
  
All he could say was, "Whoa, that looked like it hurt." Claris wasn't even breathing heavily, but she could feel the magic inside of her was tired and almost spent. It had taken quite a bit to lift the heavy boulder off the ground and send it flying. The other Nightmaren just stood stunned, Umbrae speaking first. "Nice shot, hit him straight on."  
  
Gilwing hadn't even seen the boulder, and it had knocked the wind out of him. If hadn't been sucking in all that air, it would have surely killed him. He slowly got off the ground, shaking his head to try and regain his balance. Nights was flying towards him, his speed covering the distance between them in a matter of seconds. Gilwing knew this was it. Deep inside his mind he knew he wasn't going to recover in time to stop the sword from killing him.  
  
Nights hovered down in front of Gilwings eyes, "You've been beaten. Do you yield?"  
  
The dragon-fish shook his head, glaring at Nights with renewed hatred. "I will never yield. I will always hunt you, until the day I either hear of your death, or kill you myself. You were lucky today, Nightmaren, but one day you will not be. On that day, I will dance on your grave."  
  
Nights sighed, shaking his head and holding up his sword, "When we are successful, you will be gone, Gilwing. You are the product of evil, a product of Wizeman's creation."  
  
Gilwing roared in fury and flew off the ground, straight at Nights. Nights flew off into the sky with Gilwing close behind. The Nightmaren knew now how to win. He twisted backwards, going into a backwards loop. Gilwing moved to follow, but could not bend backwards far enough. His backwards loop was not as tight and he quickly saw his mistake. Nights was already leveling out, his sword pointed straight at Gilwings back. The dragon-fish could not twist and turn, his loop was too tight. Nights continued forward, until his sword was embedded deep within Gilwing's flesh. The Nightmaren closed his eyes, sad that his enemy had not yielded, and had paid the ultimate price. The dragon-fish slid off the sword and fell to the ground with a loud crash. As the dust settled, Gilwing released his last breath, cursing Nights as he did so.  
  
-~~-  
  
Wizeman felt the loss. Though Gilwing was hundreds of miles away, he felt the terrible loss of losing one of his great children. He hovered out to the balcony and looked off towards the north, the night sky revealing nothing. He knew that Nights had been there, and had been victorious. He turned to one of the Nightmaren in his chambers, "Find Jackal, he is in Spring Valley. Tell him that Nights is in Arctic Bell, and that Gilwing is dead. He will know what to do from there." The messenger nodded and ran off the balcony, flying off to the east.  
  
-~~-  
  
The party walked in silence, none of them knowing what to say in this moment. Deep inside, many had not wanted to kill Gilwing. Only Iona and Umbrae knew that the giants death had been necessary, the others had never wanted such a fate to befall any of their enemies. It was over, however, and there was nothing that could be done now. Nights took out the Ideya, holding it up and allowing it to once again guide them.  
  
It took them down into the pit that Gilwing had formed when he burst out of the ground. They floated down into it and saw a large chamber filled with all manner of different jewels. Reds and blues mixed with yellows and oranges, making the cavern appear as though a rainbow had been entrapped in the rock itself. In the center of the chamber was a floor of pure gold, and in the center of the floor was a large white diamond shaped jewel. The green Mother Ideya was pointing directly at it. Nights and his party had found the white Mother Ideya. He picked it up and the jewel glowed as though it had found what it had been searching for all along.  
  
"We have two of the Mother Ideya's now." Nights spoke quietly, looking at the others in his group. Each of them was tired from the fight, Claris was clearly saddened by what she had done. "Gilwings death was unfortunate, but he would have continued to hunt us down as long as he lived, and we would not have been able to accomplish our quest with him constantly on our heels." The Nightmaren looked at the white jewel, it gleamed inside with its own inner light, just as the green jewel did. "This is a war, and there will be casualties. Let's just make sure that we don't have any on our side." The rest of the party nodded their head, each of them closer now that they had been in a real battle together. Nights cleared his throat, his voice still quiet, "Let's, for now, rest here in this cave. I will gather some firewood and all of us will get plenty of sleep before we set out to find the next Mother Ideya."  
  
"What is the next Ideya, Nights?" asked Pirdy.  
  
Nights took out the map, setting it on the floor of the cave. He placed the green Mother Ideya on the leather and let it go. It slowly slid across the map, seemingly lost for a moment before it stopped right on top of Splash Garden. Nights looked up at the rest of the group, "We're getting out of this wasteland, we're going to the Garden to retrieve the blue Mother Ideya."  
  
At that moment, Jackal walked once again through the town where he had found that elusive footprint. He would spend the night here, watch the entry point for a couple of days and then head north, across Splash Garden.  
  
To be continued… 


End file.
